The Evil Within
by whoa nellie
Summary: 2005 ASC Award Winner. TNGVOY There's an insidious new threat spreading throughout the Federation, but the source is a familiar enemy within the Federation. Includes: PicardVash, RikerTroi, ChakotayCrusher and JanewayBateson.


Title: The Evil Within   
Author: Whoa Nellie   
Series: TNG   
Rating: PG-13   
Codes: C/Chakotay, P/V, R/T, Janeway/Bateson, TNG crew, VOY crew   
Summary: There's an insidious new threat spreading throughout the Federation, but the source is a familiar enemy within the Federation. 

Author's notes: This occurs in the Reasons of the Heart timeline where there are no babies and Crusher is married to ship's anthropologist Commander Chakotay. This follows the events in previous Whoa Nellie stories Speaking in Tongues and Eye of the Beholder. Feel free to archive to any pertinent site. 

As always: Paramount owns all the marbles, we just have a lot more fun playing with them.   
Feedback is always appreciated - posted or e-mail. 

This is an edited version. If you are at least 18 and would like to read the original version, it can be found at either of the websites linked from our author page. 

THE EVIL WITHIN 

Counselor Deanna Troi was sitting on a bench enjoying the warm, early afternoon sun. Doctor Beverly Crusher and she had been attending a medical conference on Rigel IV for the past week. It had been a relaxing week and a half away from the ship and an interesting slate of lectures at the conference, but for Beverly it also marked her first extended separation from her husband, Chakotay, since their marriage. This was the last day of the conference and they had all afternoon free; their transport to meet up with the Enterprise didn't leave until tomorrow. Her session had finished early so she was waiting outside of the lecture hall where Beverly was still in hers. 

Coming out of the building, Beverly quickly spotted Deanna and walked over to join her. She blinked, shading her eyes against the bright sunshine after the more muted indoor lighting. "Lunch?" she asked. 

"Someone told me about this cafe just off the campus grounds," Deanna said as she stood up. "It's so beautiful outside that I was thinking we could walk there and maybe do some shopping afterward." 

"Sounds great." The two ladies began strolling along the walkway in the direction of the cafe. "I wonder how the guys are getting along," Beverly mused, almost casually. 

"I'm sure he misses you as much as you miss him," Deanna remarked with a knowing grin. 

Flushing, she shook her head. "Okay, I do miss him. I've been single more of my life than I've been married, but I've gotten very used to him being in my life. Of course, I'm also hoping that he hasn't been playing poker with Will and Jean-Luc." 

"Why?" 

Smirking, she arched an eyebrow at her friend wryly. "The last time he played poker when I wasn't there, he lost to Will and ended up in the rotation for Bridge duty." 

Deanna shrugged. "He was a First Officer for seven years. Will's mentioned that he's a good command officer." 

Beverly sighed. "I know and if he wanted to be in command that would be one thing, but he's told me that he enjoys anthropology. After all of the pressure and strain of the massacre of his people, the Maquis and then the Delta Quadrant, he's not eager to take that kind of responsibility back on yet. I'm just afraid that when we get back to the ship, he'll have lost a poker hand to Will or the Captain and be back in a burgundy uniform." 

Deanna paused and stopped Beverly, turning the other woman to face her. "Do you really think Chakotay would do that if he didn't want to?" 

"No." 

She pushed just a little further. "Do you feel like you need to protect him from stressful situations?" 

Beverly smiled self-deprecatingly. "No, I just want to protect him from anything that might make him unhappy. He's so gentle and sweet; his face is so breathtaking when he smiles that I want him to smile all of the time." 

"And he'd say the same about you," Deanna pointed out. "That's part of being in love." 

They started walking again only to be stopped short when a man barreled into them. 

"I'm so sorry," he exclaimed. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm Jos Mith." He extended his hand. 

Beverly reached out to shake his hand, flinching slightly at the spark that passed through her when their hands met. "No harm done, I'm Doctor Beverly Crusher and this is Counselor Deanna Troi." 

Deanna shook hands with him after Beverly and idly rubbed her palm as she watched him walk off. "Did you feel that?" 

"You got shocked?" Beverly asked curiously. "The static charge should have been completely discharged when he shook hands with me. It was certainly a strong shock." 

"Oh well," Deanna shook it off and they started toward the cafe once again. "What are we going to pick up for the guys to let them know how much we missed them?" 

Beverly winked at her. "I vote for something fun that we can enjoy together. We also should pick up something for Vash; there was a confectioner shop, maybe he has some Dalevian chocolate belly button candies." 

Deanna chortled. "I'm not sure how Captain Picard would like that, but I'm sure Vash would love it." 

... 

In the captain's quarters aboard the Enterprise E, Jean-Luc Picard sat at the dinner table with his wife along with Will Riker and Chakotay. With their wives gone, Vash had insisted that Will and Chakotay have dinner with them every few nights. After discovering just how well-deserved her reputation for being persistent was, they relented. Personally, Picard enjoyed the company since the loss of his wife's playmates had put the burden of keeping her entertained squarely on his shoulders and he knew that Vash enjoyed her role as the social face of the captain, not to mention Queen Bee holding court with her harem. He set his wine glass back down and regarded Her Highness. "How is your new assistant, Miss Leigh, settling in?" 

"Karita's doing fine," Vash replied, picking up her glass to take a drink. 

Riker finished the last bite of his dinner and laid his napkin on the table. "She seemed pretty young and kind of skittish. I was afraid she was going to break that piece she was holding while we were there." Although Miss Leigh resembled a very young Deanna, the girl had reminded him of a scared rabbit when he met her. 

"Karita is a very promising Daystrom Institute doctoral candidate doing fieldwork with me while working on her dissertation. As far as her skittishness, that was probably due to the fact that you dropped by the lab accompanied by mon capitaine," Vash chuckled as she gestured toward Jean-Luc. "It's going to take some work to get her past that whole legendary, heroic figure thing." 

"I'm not a heroic figure," Picard groaned under his breath at his wife's description. 

"I don't remember Barbara ever being apprehensive around the Captain," Riker mused referring to Vash's previous assistant. 

"Jean-Luc didn't rescue Barbara while she was being held hostage by a group of Romulans early on in her post graduate studies like he did Karita. Suddenly, this legendary hero you've only read about in history class comes gallantly riding to your rescue . . . it takes a girl a while to get past a thing like that." Vash grinned knowing she had hit at least three of her husband's buttons with that. 

Chakotay sucked in his breath. "History class, ouch." 

"If I recall correctly, chere, Miss Leigh was not the only one rescued from Nimbus IV," Picard reminded his wife with a sigh. 

"Nimbus IV?" Chakotay wondered out loud then seeing the self-satisfied expression on Vash's face, he answered the question himself, "more fun storming castles." 

"Yep," Vash chirped in reply. "Anyway, Karita gets all starry-eyed and tongue-tied whenever the legendary captain enters the room. Knowing Barbara's personality, she would have helped Karita get over that pretty quick, but -- " 

"Barbara's on the Voluspa," Chakotay finished for her. 

"I have no one to blame but myself; after all, I personally recommended her to Kathryn to head up the team translating the Eh-Cu'oral's databases since Barbara was part of my initial translation effort and can be trusted. Of course, that leaves me with a very sweet, but wide-eyed, greener than green assistant to break in. Even Dee and Bev aren't here to help me with this little project," Vash bemoaned. Gesturing to all three men at the table, she added, "not that I don't enjoy having all this testosterone at my sole disposal; there are just limits to the helpfulness of Y chromosomes." 

"Those limits being when women deem us to be useful," Picard commented sardonically. 

Vash reached over to pat his hand. "Absolutely." 

Sighing, Picard just shook his head at the quick, expectedly-flippant response. "When do Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi get back?" 

"Four days," Chakotay supplied. 

"Four and a half," Riker corrected him. 

"Counting the days too, huh boys?" Vash sympathized. "I could always get Jean-Luc to alter course and go pick them up a little early." 

Picard laid his napkin on the table. "Believe me, chere, I know just how much you're missing your playmates and I am also looking forward to their return, but we are not altering course." 

"Look at your officers," Vash coaxed. "They're miserable without their wives. Aren't you?" 

"Well, let's just say I've spent more than enough time playing with my 'bone lately," Riker commented, the twinkle in his eyes the only indication that he was daring her to go there. 

"Vash, no," Picard spoke up before his wife had a chance to make the double entendre that his First Officer's remark screamed for. 

She just stuck her tongue out at her husband and shrugged at Riker before turning her attention to Chakotay. "What about you, Chakotay? How are you handling the return to your bachelor days?" 

Chakotay exhaled loudly and melodramatically let his head fall to stare into his lap. "I can't remember how I lived my life before Beverly. Without my Fireball there I just sit in our dark, empty quarters and stare out the window wondering what she's doing right then. I hope she's looking up at those same stars thinking of me, too." 

Riker snorted. "Sounds like someone's rehearsing for one of his wife's theater productions." 

Leaning back in her chair, Vash crossed her arms over her chest and regarded Chakotay with bemusement. She could count on one hand the number of men who willingly engaged her in verbal skirmishes and Chakotay had done so from the first. "It sounds more like he's been dipping into Beverly's stash of romance novels. Isn't that a paraphrase from 'Starlight, Starbright'?" 

"Just catching up on the research that Will and the Captain had already done to survive life with the threesome," Chakotay retorted, unabashed. "Although I still haven't gotten those fencing lessons." 

"So when can we expect to see you on stage, Commander?" Picard asked. "I admit I'm surprised that your wife hasn't gotten you in her productions yet." 

"Not for lack of trying," Chakotay said with a grin. "I did offer to play the male lead in Lady of Burlesque if the 'Dancing Doctor' would come out of retirement to play the female lead, but she was less than receptive to that suggestion." 

Both Riker and Picard broke up laughing, as much at the Commander's innocent, matter-of-fact expression as the content of his comment; both of them knew of Beverly's old nickname and her disdain for it. Even Vash was chuckling; she remembered Beverly's reaction to that when she'd told them about it during a chocolate fest. She had also made a few intriguing references to the private burlesque performance that his suggestion had prompted. All three of the men at her table possessed the self-assured sense of masculinity that enabled them to delight in the strength of their respective wives and take their challenges in stride. For all of their joking about 'surviving the threesome', they wouldn't have it any other way. 

"That reference to Nimbus IV reminded me of something," Picard remarked. "If memory serves, Commander Chakotay, Voyager had an encounter with a graviton ellipse in the Delta Quadrant." 

"Yes, sir," he replied. "We found the Ares IV and the remains of Lieutenant John Kelly inside the one we encountered along with debris that would keep a hundred historians and archaeologists busy for years. We managed to download Lieutenant Kelly's logs and scans from the computer on the Ares IV--did you know that he kept studying the ellipse and recording logs from inside the ellipse for a week, right up until the end? The man was a true explorer, just an incredible pioneer; listening to his logs was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Unfortunately, I was in Sickbay and unable to attend the memorial service that Captain Janeway gave him." 

"Ares IV?" Riker gave a low wolf whistle. "I have got to get a hold of those recordings." 

Picard nodded in agreement and started to say something. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Vash protested. "You are all here to entertain me, not talk shop. I've seen the contents of a graviton ellipse and it was fascinating, but I'm off-duty now as are all three of you. Behave or I'll tell your wives on you." 

... 

Captain Kathryn Janeway sat in her ready room onboard the U.S.S. Voluspa. The ship had become her mobile command center with the inception of the task force dealing with the Eh-Cu'oral sect. It made controlling access to the details of their work much easier and it significantly reduced the potential for intelligence leaks. All communications to and from the ship occurred on secure channels and could only be initiated by using an individual identification code. All of the reports made to Starfleet Headquarters were sent encrypted and coded 'eyes only.' They'd made some progress, a few arrests and identification of underground publications through which the sect members kept in touch, but the task force still had a long way to go to root the entire pro-Borg movement out. 

Her computer screen flashed to indicate that her transmission was being received. "Morgan, long time, no see." 

In his own ready room aboard the U.S.S. Bozeman, Captain Morgan Bateson smiled. "Kathryn, it's good to see you, too. Of course, you could always order the Bozeman to rendezvous with the Voluspa and then we could do a lot more than just look at each other," he finished with a wink. 

"Morgan," she chuckled, her cheeks flushed, "Don't tempt me. How's Harry doing?" 

Bateson gave her a knowing look. "My Chief of Security is doing just fine." 

Janeway sighed. "Voyager was his first posting out of the Academy. Sometimes I wonder if I did as much to help him develop as I should have--or any of my crew, for that matter." 

"Kathryn," he admonished her gently. "You got them home, an incredible feat in itself. I know for a fact that the Starfleet people from Voyager were highly sought after. I wouldn't say actual fistfights occurred, but your people had their pick of offers--Maquis and Starfleet alike. You did an admirable job with all of them." 

"Please, not that word," she cringed, "and some of the credit goes to Chakotay and my command staff." 

Bateson grinned. "Admiral Janeway has an impressive ring to it." 

"Boring is more like it," she retorted. "I worked hard to get my own command, I'd like to enjoy it for a good long time before I'm put out to pasture." 

"Well, in any case, Harry Kim is a fine, young officer who speaks very highly of his former Captain. When my First Officer accepted his own command and I promoted my Security Chief to that position, I was left with an opening on my command staff. Harry was an ideal candidate, especially since the Bozeman was going to be part of your task force and he was already up to speed on these Borg worshippers. I didn't request him because of you, Kathryn, but I have little doubt that I got him because of you. In fact, I'm pretty sure that you casually mentioned Harry's transfer request and desire for command over dinner with me with this very situation in mind, for which I thank you." 

Janeway shrugged sheepishly. 

Bateson just nodded and continued. "You're right about him having command potential; he'll make a fine captain one day. You've done your job by him, now he's my responsibility." 

"I know you well enough to know that you feel responsible for all of the original Bozeman crew no matter where they are now, Morgan," she retorted with a grateful smile. 

He laughed. "Guilty as charged." 

"As much as I appreciate the pep talk," Janeway said, her demeanor a bit more business-like, "there actually was a reason for this call." 

"And here I thought you just missed me." 

Janeway grinned. "You're still near the Cardassian border aren't you?" she asked. 

Bateson pulled up the sensor display. "Less than a day at warp five," he replied. "Why?" 

Janeway gestured aimlessly. "I'm not sure. The Gamma 7 outpost contacted Starfleet for assistance. Apparently they found some bodies; all they said in their message was that there was something very unusual about them. I don't know why Starfleet Command dropped it in my lap, but I want you to have a look. If you don't think it's connected to the Eh-Cu'oral in any way, we'll hand it over to the appropriate authorities." 

"Understood," he acknowledged. "I'll be in touch." 

"Promises, promises," she shot back before he closed the channel. 

... 

Chakotay waited patiently for the Beta shift Bridge crew to file out of the turbolift before he followed suit. He walked briskly down to stand in front of the command chair and nodded to Picard. "Beta shift reporting, sir." 

Picard looked from Riker to Data who was in his position at the conn. "I thought you were on the schedule for this shift, Data." 

"Commander Data offered to trade Bridge duty shifts with me," Chakotay explained. 

Data clarified. "Mrs. Picard suggested it thinking that Commander Chakotay and Dr. Crusher would want to spend time together when the Counselor and she return from their conference." 

"I approved the change in the schedule, sir," Riker assured him. 

Picard stood, tugging on his uniform jacket. "It's not that I object to changing the schedule, Number One, but my wife is not the ship's cruise director." He paused and looked directly at Riker. "She does not dictate duty schedules for any department other than her own." 

"Are you planning to inform her of that when you get to your quarters?" Riker asked with a knowing grin. 

Picard nodded to Chakotay and gestured toward the command chair. "Carry on, Commander, the Bridge is yours." 

"Yes, sir," Chakotay chuckled, taking his seat and ensuring that all duty stations were manned. 

... 

Deanna entered the cabin that Beverly and she were sharing. This passenger ship was the only vessel heading toward the sector where the Enterprise was patrolling. Traveling on a passenger ship always felt odd to her after years spent on Starfleet vessels. Even with her shields in place, the cacophony of emotions made the ship feel like chaos personified. Beverly was right where she'd been when Deanna had left to check with the purser about their scheduled rendezvous with the Enterprise. "Still reading that medical journal?" Deanna asked. 

Beverly blushed and put the PADD down. "It's the surprise that I picked up for Chakotay; a holonovel of an old romance novel called Defiant Bride by Scotney St. James. It's about copper-haired Cathryn being kidnapped by an outlaw named Revan MacLinn and spirited away to a remote castle." 

"Planning on being ravished are you?" Deanna grinned. "Who was that present for again? Either way, maybe you'll let Will and me borrow it after you've had your fun." 

"I would have thought you'd be more interested in the novel The Abduction that we picked up for Vash," Beverly shot back knowingly. "A female clan leader who kidnaps the head of a rival clan right out of his bath--talk Data into writing a holodeck program for it and the two of you could take turns playing abductor/abductee." 

Deanna and Will frequently played pirates on the holodeck and he yielded to her as often as she yielded to him. The door chime sounded and she shrugged as she went to answer it. "In one holonovel he kidnaps and ravishes me and in the other I kidnap and ravish him, sounds like the best of both worlds to me." She opened the door to reveal the ship's purser. 

"Commander Troi," he began nervously. "I'm glad I found you and Commander Crusher. There's a bit of a problem and, being Starfleet officers, I was hoping that you could help." 

Feeling the man's intense agitation, Deanna drew him inside and led him to a chair. "What's wrong?" 

"I'm not sure," he said. "The ship's physician just seemed to snap during a staff meeting. He suddenly rushed out of the room babbling incoherently about sounds in his head and when the First Officer and myself tried to restrain him, he got a weapon away from the First Officer and started shooting. He's still up there on the Bridge and he's already killed several of the Bridge officers including the Captain and First Officer. I barely got out alive and now I can't get a response from anyone up there. I've known the man for years, this is completely unlike him." 

Beverly started to reach into the nightstand only to remember that they weren't carrying phasers with them. "What about security?" she asked. 

"We're a passenger ship, ma'am. I can get you phasers, but the First Officer and I generally handle any security issues that come up with some of the crewmen as back-up. The company didn't see a need to pay security officers when it wasn't necessary." 

Deanna shook her head. "It would seem to be necessary now." 

"Well," Beverly said. "Let's get some phasers and then get to the Bridge to scope out the situation. We'll keep this to just the three of us for now, there's no reason to upset the passengers." 

... 

The away team from the Bozeman materialized in the entryway of the research facility on the Gamma 7 outpost. Commander Mahlon Wickiser, the First Officer and a blond, blue-eyed German whom most of his friends called 'Wick,' stepped forward to greet the head of the facility. "Dr. Van Kirk?" he asked to confirm the identity of the woman meeting them. "I'm Commander Wickiser of the Federation Starship Bozeman. This is Lieutenant Commander Kim, Chief of Security; Lieutenant Commander Hardy, Science Officer and Ensign Adams. You reported an unusual finding to Starfleet Headquarters?" 

"Yes, she replied. "Come with me." 

The research facility was small, Harry counted less than two dozen people in the corridors and labs that they passed. The official count was fifty-two individuals living and working full-time at the remote facility, mostly in astrophysics. There were two nebulae in the region around the Gamma 7 outpost, the Rolor nebula as well as a dark matter nebula. Dr. Van Kirk finally stopped the group in front of a room that had biohazard warnings on the door. 

"They're in there," she said, entering a code into the door mechanism. "The room is refrigerated to preserve them. We put them on tables and just sealed the room until we got further instructions from Starfleet. To be honest, we didn't really know what else to do with them; this is far beyond any of our collective expertise." 

As Commander Wickiser and the others entered the room, Harry drew the doctor aside to get more details about where they'd found them, who had been in any contact with them since their arrival at the facility and who else had the authorization code to the room where they'd been stored. 

"God!" Wick exclaimed. "Hardy, what do you make of this?" 

Lieutenant Commander Joe Hardy scanned the three bodies. "They're human but we'll need autopsies to determine cause of death. That other stuff I couldn't even guess." 

Harry walked up to join them and his stomach plummeted at the sight in front of him. He drew his phaser and adjusted the setting. "I can guess," he said. He tapped his communicator. "Kim to Security, I want a security team to Cargo Bay 1 with phasers. Set each phaser to a different dispersal frequency and all of them should be set to kill. Prepare for hazardous materials transfer. Inform me when the cargo bay is secure, Kim out." 

"Harry?" Wick asked. 

"Those are Borg implants erupting from their bodies," he explained. "My guess would be either incomplete or failed assimilation attempts. Dr. Van Kirk said they found the bodies floating in space and they've been kept frozen here. I'd prefer to transfer them to stasis units, but we don't have any. Borg nanoprobes can bring dead bodies back to life, I've seen it. Before we beam these bodies onto the ship, I think some extra security precautions are in order." 

The First Officer nodded approvingly before activating his own communicator. "Away team to Captain Bateson." 

"What have you got, Wick?" 

"Three dead bodies with what Mr. Kim identified as Borg hardware in various places on their bodies. We're preparing to beam them aboard, recommend Level 5 quarantine field around Cargo Bay 1." 

Aboard the Bozeman, Bateson sat up in his command chair. "Acknowledged, I'll send a coded transmission to the Voluspa. We'll leave orbit as soon as you've beamed back." 

Wick looked over at Harry. "Resurrect the dead? That is a story I have to hear; say, while I kick your ass in a game of darts once we've got these bodies secured?" 

The Bozeman pre-dated holodeck technology, so leisure activities had been limited to pursuits that didn't require much space. Even after one of the smaller cargo bays had been outfitted with holoemitters, most of the original Bozeman crew still tended to favor card games and darts. Harry could hold his own in the poker games, but he was convinced that every member of the crew could hit a bulls-eye blindfolded when it came to darts. His game was improving, but more important was the conversations that took place during the games. Even Captain Bateson joined in dart games on a regular basis and the crew of the Bozeman had all begun their Starfleet careers more than a century before. The stories they told, the things Harry learned from them over darts was well worth the ignominy of perpetual defeat. Commander Wickiser had been the Bozeman's Chief of Security before his promotion and had become a mentor to Harry in his time there. Acknowledging the security team's message that the cargo bay was secure, he grinned at Wick. "Yes, sir." 

... 

After a brief stop in the security office to get phasers, Beverly and Deanna took the turbolift to the deck below the Bridge where the purser showed them the jeffries tube that led to the Bridge. The purser quickly described the layout and the location of the panel that they would come out of. Beverly gestured for Deanna to go first thinking that her empathy would give them a better idea of how close the ship's doctor was to where they'd emerge. Fortunately the panel was located in a recessed niche which would give them some cover as long as the doctor wasn't standing near the panel. Following behind Deanna, she winced at every small sound echoing loudly in the confines of the tube and stopped with an inaudible sigh of relief when Deanna finally reached the Bridge access. 

Deanna closed her eyes, focusing on the area beyond the bulkhead to try to sense the people there. She opened her eyes after a moment and looked down at Beverly, silently shaking her head no. Both women held their breath as Deanna carefully eased the cover off and set it on the floor in front of the opening. She quickly slipped out of the jeffries tube and drew her phaser, checking that it was set to stun. While Beverly and the purser joined her, she kept them covered even though the doctor was on the other side of the room yelling hysterically and showed no signs that he'd even heard them. When Beverly had her phaser out and ready, she called out. "Doctor, I'm Counselor Deanna Troi, I'd like to help you if you'll just tell me what's wrong." 

The only response was a scream followed by several bolts of weapons fire. Beverly noted the numerous blast marks and charring on the consoles and walls of the Bridge. It was unlikely that a blast would penetrate the front viewscreen, but she had no way of knowing how many times the doctor had already fired at it. 

"Please, just talk to me," Deanna said. She nodded in response to Beverly's hand signals and redoubled her efforts to get him talking while Beverly moved into a position with a better line of fire. "I can hear that you're upset and in pain, let me help you." 

A bolt of energy struck bare centimeters from Beverly's hand as she slid behind a computer station. Wasting no time, she raised up and fired several shots in quick succession. The doctor stiffened and dropped to the floor. She raced over and kicked the phaser away from the man's outstretched hand. "Clear," she called out, not moving her phaser from where she had it pointed at him. Only when Deanna arrived to watch him did she put her phaser down and check him. "He's dead," she said in disbelief. 

The purser went over to a console and retrieved a small box which he gave to Beverly. "Here's an emergency medkit. There's a medical tricorder in there." 

Beverly scanned the man and confirmed her initial diagnosis. "This doesn't make any sense, the phaser was only set to stun. There's no sign of physical trauma and the tricorder isn't picking up any damage to the heart muscle. I'll have to do an autopsy." 

Deanna, meanwhile, was checking ship's systems. "I'm powering down engines," she told Beverly. "Most of the system interfaces here on the Bridge have been damaged; we're going to need some assistance." 

After scanning the rest of the bodies on the Bridge, Beverly put the tricorder away. "They're all dead. The Bridge crew shows physical trauma consistent with energy weapons, but until we know more, we're going to have to lock the ship down and quarantine everybody. I'll send a distress signal and make a general announcement to the passengers and crew asking everybody to remain confined to quarters. In the meantime, I need the two of you to get down to Engineering and get the warp core offline. No matter what, we need to keep the warp core locked down to prevent an accidental breach in case this is some sort of contagion and more people experience whatever this is." 

Deanna nodded curtly. "Give us ten minutes to take control of Engineering before you make the announcement." 

... 

"Incoming distress signal," the officer at ops reported. 

Chakotay put his PADD down and straightened his posture in an almost sub-conscious shift into command mode. "On screen." 

"Audio only," the officer informed him before putting the message on speakers. 

Chakotay's heart plunged into his stomach when he recognized the voice. He listened as Beverly calmly provided her name, the ship's designation and that they were in need of emergency assistance. He gestured for the ops officer to trace the signal, steeling himself when she mentioned weapons fire damage to Bridge systems and several fatalities among the ship's crew. "Can we respond?" 

"Negative, signal is on auto-repeat; source located," the ops officer said. 

"Send those coordinates to the helm," Chakotay ordered. He looked at the helmsman. "Lay in a course, Warp 7." 

The helmsman swiveled around, a hesitant expression on his face. "Shouldn't we inform the Captain before--" he voice broke off at the imposing glare coming from the man sitting in the command chair. "Altering course and engaging at Warp 7. Aye, sir." 

The ops officer, who hadn't forgotten that Commander Chakotay and Dr. Crusher were married, had already calculated their time to intercept. "Even at Warp 7, it'll take almost three and a half hours to reach them. There are no other Starfleet vessels in the vicinity, no other ships capable of reaching them any sooner than we can." 

Chakotay nodded and reached for the control panel of the command chair to advise Captain Picard of the situation. 

... 

Vash stood in front of her open closet trying to decide what to wear. After having spent the day in her lab, she wanted to change out of her work clothes into something more feminine. 

Picard silently leaned against the doorway of his bedroom and watched his wife. The simple khaki shirt and pants hinted at the feminine curves of her lithe silhouette and accentuated the perfectly proportioned roundness of her backside in a way that just couldn't be described. He walked over to stand directly behind her encircling her tiny waist with his arms. He buried his face in her silky hair, inhaling deeply, drinking in her sweet scent. "Of all the things I see you in -- and out of -- this is probably my favorite." 

While luxuriating in the warmth of his strong embrace, she asked sounding amused, "this drab thing is your favorite?" 

"Seeing you dressed this way reminds me of our first night together on Risa." He nudged the soft curtain of brunette hair aside to nibble along the slender column of her neck. The low timber of his voice rolled across the creamy skin, "The night I found myself in a cave making love to this incredibly beautiful woman." 

The combination of his bedroom baritone and lips nibbling up and down her neck sent a shiver racing down her spine. Turning to face him, her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her lips to his in an impassioned kiss. Her tongue stole between his parted lips to plunder the depths of the warm, moist cavern. His arms tightened around her waist pulling her closer and she pulled away to eye him in bemusement when she felt her feet leave the floor. "I thought you were getting tired of me." 

"Not humanly possible," he murmured. Carrying her the few, short steps to the nearby dresser, he sat her down and nudged her legs apart to press himself closer to her. The fabric between them only served to taunt him with the carnal knowledge of what lay beneath. 

She reached up and slowly began unbuttoning her top. "You're bored with me and can't wait--" 

He silenced her with a deep kiss while he helped her peel off her shirt and unfastened her bra to bare her breasts. Breaking the kiss, he dropped a perfunctory kiss on the end of her adorable little nose. "If anything, you've got me over-stimulated. The more I get of you, the more I need; I may never get enough of you." 

"You can never get too much of a good thing." 

Picard rocked his hips against her. "You've certainly been giving it the old college try." 

Vash dragged his face to hers, her fingers entangled in the short, grey hairs as they cupped his head and held him to her. Her tongue stroked in and out of his mouth, teasing him until he took over and deepened the kiss. Feeling his hands opening her pants, she arched up against him and moved her hands to his shoulders to brace herself in anticipation of his desires. She challenged him, thrusting her tongue back into his mouth to goad him further. 

"We just changed course," he mumbled around her tongue. 

"What?" Vash muttered confused when he broke off the kiss suddenly. 

"The Enterprise just changed course and speed." 

With a huff, Vash crossed her arms across her bare chest. Sounding somewhat irked, she asked, "And you noticed this?" 

His jacket and communicator were in the other room, so he headed for the commlink on the bedside table. "Of course I did." 

"With my tongue down your throat?" she exclaimed. With a disgusted roll of her eyes, she muttered, "obviously I'm losing my touch; I mean it's one thing to figuratively make the earth move when we're doing this, but it's a horse of an entirely different color when you can actually feel the ship make a minor course adjustment when we're in the middle of this." 

"Bridge to Captain Picard," Chakotay's voice rang out over the comm just before he touched it to activate it. 

"Picard here. Go ahead, Commander," Picard answered, grateful for the interruption. 

"We've received a distress call from Beverly asking for immediate emergency assistance from any ship in the vicinity. There has apparently been a situation onboard the passenger ship they're traveling on; she's broadcasting a message on auto-repeat and we haven't been able to raise the ship on communications. All we know at this point is that there is weapons fire damage to Bridge systems and several fatalities among the ship's crew. We're the closest ship in the area and we're still more than three hours away at Warp 7." 

"Understood, Commander," Picard acknowledged. The few moments that had passed between their course change and Chakotay informing him of the situation might be insignificant, but they would arrive just a few minutes sooner which felt important. "Assemble senior staff, I'm on my way." 

"Jean-Luc," Vash's concern for her two friends was clearly evident on her face and in her voice. She hopped down from her perch on the dresser and reached for her clothes. 

"Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi are both excellent officers. They'll be all right until the cavalry arrives," he gently reassured her. Tenderly cupping her chin, he claimed her lips in a brief romantic kiss before heading for the door, grabbing his jacket and shrugging it on as he left. 

... 

Three tense hours later, the Enterprise was at yellow alert pending their arrival at the passenger ship that was still transmitting the distress signal they'd received earlier. There had been no reply from the passenger ship to the constant attempts to establish communications. Senior staff were all back at their usual positions on the Bridge and a frustrated Chakotay was pacing his quarters waiting for news. With a barely audible sigh of relief, Lar spoke up from tactical. "I have Dr. Crusher on an incoming transmission. Transferring to main viewscreen." 

Picard instantly noted how tired Beverly looked. "Doctor, we're still more than twenty minutes away. What's your status?" 

"Secure," she sighed, "for now." She was sitting at the desk in the Captain's ready room on the passenger ship since the main communications interface on the Bridge was too damaged to allow visual communications. 

"Commander Riker is preparing a team to beam over and take command as soon as we arrive," he told her. 

Beverly closed her eyes and wearily shook her head. "No, Captain, I can't allow that. The ship's doctor had some sort of psychotic episode and killed the Bridge crew; he died while Deanna and I were trying to re-take the Bridge. Until I can determine what caused his episode and subsequent death, I have to quarantine this ship. Only bio-hazard certified personnel with proper equipment can transport over and neither Will, Chakotay nor you currently have that certification, which leaves me as the next most senior officer capable of being in command over here. There's no reason to send over any more personnel than absolutely necessary and Deanna's already here anyway which gives us two command level officers onboard. I'll need medical teams and security teams as well as some engineering personnel if there's any qualified for bio-hazard situations. I can't recall right off-hand who all is on the Enterprise at the moment." 

Riker stood, trying to avoid the temptation to pace. "Where's Deanna?" 

"In Engineering keeping the warp core locked down," Beverly replied. "Until I can do autopsies on the dead, I have no way to know what caused the doctor's episode or if anyone else on the Bridge was similarly affected. The passengers and crew have been confined to quarters with only a couple of minor incidents, mostly a small panic among some of the passengers. Everything is under control now, but we didn't want to risk a warp core breach so she's kept Engineering secured along with the ship's purser who came to us for help when this all started. Everyone on this ship will need to be examined and cleared before I can lift the quarantine order." 

"Understood, Doctor," Picard said. "What can we do for you from here?" 

Beverly checked the PADD where she'd been making notes. "I've got the computer running a diagnostic on the environmental systems to rule out contaminants. If you could establish a link with this computer, it would help if the Enterprise crew could handle analyses while we're dealing with things here. The diagnostic results, ship's logs, medical records and personal logs should be reviewed for any reference to odd behavior. I'd also like the Enterprise to run full scans just in case internal sensors have been compromised. I can do the autopsies, but there's no lab facilities here so I'll have to beam tissue samples over there for analysis. Have med lab set up for hazardous materials." 

"Acknowledged, we'll be there in seventeen minutes, Enterprise out." 

"I've established a connection with the computer on the passenger ship," Lar announced. "Downloading now, it'll take a few minutes." 

Picard nodded. "Mr. Data, work with Geordi on the system diagnostic results as well as the review of the ship's logs. Mr. Lar, work with Astrometrics to get those scans started and transfer medical records from the ship to Dr. Selar to get started reviewing. Number One, get the personnel with the requisite certification together and get them briefed and ready to debark, I'll have Commander Chakotay meet you in your office to review those personal logs." He tugged at his uniform jacket and sat back down in his chair watching his crew leap into action like a well-oiled machine. 

... 

Deanna tensed when the doors to Engineering were forced open, her phaser was set to high stun and pointed directly at the center of the large doors. She relaxed and motioned for the ship's purser to lower his weapon when she saw the suited-up personnel from the Enterprise. Security entered first, sweeping the room for potential threats before Engineering personnel began filing in and setting up. 

"We're here to relieve you, ma'am," the Texan drawl of Lieutenant Mark Randall was distorted slightly by the encounter suit he wore. 

Lefler was already taking charge of Engineering. "I want a complete diagnostic and all engine controls routed to that console and locked down." 

"What about the Bridge?" Deanna asked Randall. 

"A security team is on its way there to relieve Dr. Crusher." 

Deanna nodded and waved the purser over. "We'll head down to the infirmary and see what we can do to help with crowd control." 

"I'll have to ask for your weapons, ma'am," Randall held out a hand to stop them. "Standard security protocol, you're part of the quarantine." 

Deanna reached for the purser's weapon and handed both phasers to the security officer. "Of course." 

Taking them, he handed her a communicator. "Just give a holler if you need anything." 

... 

Onboard the Enterprise in Riker's office, Chakotay was waiting for the First Officer to get back from seeing to the away teams and the equipment they were beaming over. He opened a channel to the passenger ship. After an interminable few seconds, the screen flickered and Beverly's face appeared, a welcome--if haggard--sight. "Hey, Fireball, I've missed you." 

"I missed you, too," she replied softly. 

"I'm coming over there." 

Beverly touched the screen in a tender caress of his image. "You can't, we're quarantined." 

"I've been in worse situations before; I want to be over there helping you," he insisted. The frustration of the past several hours, knowing that she was in trouble and not being able to do anything to help her was unbearable now that he could actually see her. "I'm willing to risk it." 

"Negative, Commander!" she snapped harshly. "You will stay right where you are. If you attempt to board this vessel in any way, I'll have you thrown in the brig and hauled up on charges. Is that clear?" 

Chakotay started to argue but bit back his reply and silently, reluctantly shook his head yes. 

Beverly's tone softened. "Don't make me raise shields, Chakotay. I need the Enterprise's help, I need you to help from there with reviewing all of the information on the ship, its passengers and crew to try and find some answers. The sooner we solve this, the sooner I can come home." 

"I love you," he uttered softly. 

"I love you, too." 

... 

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the transporter beam envelope the three bodies. The Bozeman had rendezvoused with the Voluspa and they were transferring the bodies. There had been no indication of life in any of them, not so much as a blip of brain activity, but he was glad to be rid of them just the same. His commbadge chirped. "Kim, here." 

"Incoming transmission from the Voluspa for you, sir," the officer at ops informed him. 

"Patch it through," he ordered. He was a little surprised to hear Tom Paris' voice. 

"Hey, Harry." 

"Hi, Tom, what's up?" he asked finishing up his security report on the transfer of the bodies and handing it to a security officer near him. 

"Captain Bateson beamed over to conference with Janeway so I thought if you weren't busy I could beam over there and we could get caught up. We haven't talked in a while." 

"Sounds great," Harry replied. "I'll meet you in Transporter Room One." 

Five minutes later, Tom materialized on the transporter pad and grinned at Harry. "I hope you're not expecting a salute, Chief of Security Kim." 

Harry laughed and shook his head, holding out his hand for a handshake. After everything they'd been through together, the Voyager crew would probably always feel like family. Tom had become like the brother he'd never had. "Just behave yourself or I'll have you thrown in the brig." 

Pulling Harry off balance with the hand clasped in his, Tom snapped off a salute. "Yes, sir, Commander Kim, sir. Seriously, you look great. How are you enjoying it?" 

"It gives me a new appreciation for Tuvok," Harry admitted, "but I like it. Come on, I'll give you a tour." 

"The long-lost Bozeman," Tom commented, looking around as they left the transporter room. A lot of ships had disappeared without a trace over the centuries. Usually they were never seen again and here was a ship full of people who had just popped out of a temporal distortion as if no time at all had passed. In reality, they'd been lost for a century. 

Harry gestured toward the turbolift. "So what are you doing on the Voluspa and, more importantly, how are B'Elanna and Miral?" 

"They're fine, Miral is a precious little handful who has decided that potties are bad and she's just not going to go there," Tom replied with a rueful grin. "Her and B'Elanna are over on the Voluspa, you should join us for dinner if you can." 

Harry waited for Tom to exit the lift before following him. "What are all of you doing there?" 

"Working for the task force," Tom answered. He stopped and looked to see if there was anyone in the area. 

"My office is just ahead," Harry said quietly. "It's the third door to your right." 

Tom shook his head in bemusement. "You with your own office, go figure." 

Inside his office, Harry got Tom and himself some coffee from the replicator and sat down behind his desk. "So, how'd you end up working for the task force?" 

"B'Elanna," was Tom's one word reply. He took a sip of his coffee and tried to explain. "No one on Voyager knew this, Harry, but for months after she was assimilated in that whole Unimatrix Zero thing, B'Elanna had nightmares about the assimilation. She'd wake up screaming and couldn't go back to sleep until she checked the long-range sensors for any sign of Borg activity. The nightmares stopped after a while and she hadn't had one since." 

"Until now," Harry guessed. 

Tom nodded. "They started when we found out about that group who kidnapped Seven--one of the reasons B'Elanna didn't want to come on the search. She didn't tell me how upset she was until I got back. She was barely sleeping at all--Miral's teething was hard enough to deal with but on top of that, every time she did close her eyes she dreamed about being assimilated. After Seven transferred to the Voluspa to work with Janeway's task force, B'Elanna decided to do the same. The only way she can sleep at night is to spend her days in the research lab on the Voluspa working on ways to defend against the Borg just in case these crazies succeed in contacting them." 

"What about Miral and your boat?" Harry asked. 

"Captain Janeway adores Miral, we have comfortable quarters and spending her childhood on a starship didn't do Naomi any harm," Tom replied. "As for my boat, my parents are taking care of it and we've got the Flyer at our disposal so we can get away on occasion. We've only been here about a month and a half or so, but we'll get back to Earth when we can." 

"What about you?" 

Tom shrugged. "I'm not thrilled to be on a ship I can't fly and not be able to spend weekends out on the boat, but B'Elanna's happy here and I've got a daughter who I would do anything to protect. Knowing these crazies are out there, it feels good to be part of the effort to stop them. More importantly, it feels good to see B'Elanna sleep peacefully through the night. I can design ships and write holodeck programs from anywhere." 

Shuddering with memories of his own experience in Borg assimilation--partial though it was, Harry saluted Tom with his coffee cup. "Sometimes I forget some of the stuff we experienced back in the Delta Quadrant." 

"It's not all work," Tom shrugged off Harry's silent gesture of admiration. "An archaeologist from the Enterprise transferred over to work on the database translation, Barbara Caldwell; apparently she was the assistant to the archaeologist who cracked the code to begin with." 

"Vash Picard," Harry supplied. The Captains of the Bozeman and the Enterprise were friends so the ships rendezvoused whenever the opportunity presented itself, which also gave him the chance to see Chakotay and his wife. 

"Yeah, well Barbara and Seven have been working on a program that would translate the database faster. They could probably use your help and Barbara's cute, not to mention she has a killer sense of humor. Quality time with two beautiful women; you're missing out on a great opportunity here, Harry." 

Harry just chuckled. "If I want my own ship some day, I need experience serving under more than just one captain, Tom. I'm learning a lot from Captain Bateson and the rest of the crew here; besides, there are cute, smart women here on the Bozeman, too." 

"Yeah, but they're like a hundred years older than you are," Tom pointed out. 

"Tell them that," Harry suggested. "I double-dare you." 

... 

Massaging the back of her neck wearily, Beverly stretched out some of the kinks in her back before she continued. Tissue samples had already been sent to the Enterprise and the autopsies of the Bridge crew hadn't turned anything up. She was on an open commlink with Dr. Selar while she autopsied the ship's doctor. "There's an implant here in the inner ear," she remarked. 

"A hearing implant," Dr. Selar informed her. "He was born deaf and received implants just behind the organ of Corti in both ears shortly after birth." 

"Check the database for any similar instances involving those implants," Beverly requested. "There's some sign of recent tissue damage around them." 

Dr. Selar's voice returned a couple of minutes later. "No reported malfunctions of that model, Dr. Crusher, and no similar incidents of such behavior associated with any of the aural implant models." 

Beverly completed her analysis and picked up a laser scalpel from the nearby tray. "Well, cause of death was a subarachnoid hemorrhage resulting from a cerebral aneurysm in the temporal lobe at the cochlear nerve. I'm going to beam the implants over, I want a complete diagnostic on them but at least we're not dealing with a contagion. Tell Captain Picard--" 

"Just a moment, Doctor," Selar interrupted. "The lab has completed its analysis of the blood and tissue samples. The doctor's samples showed the presence of nanites; there was a residual energy signature that was likely a result of the phaser fire, but they are currently inactive. None of the other samples contained nanites, just the doctor." 

Beverly grabbed a tricorder and scanned the doctor's body. "I'm not detecting anything. Are you sure?" 

"Yes, Doctor. The nanites showed up on a spectral analysis. They appear to have an organic component, which in their inactive state, would prevent medical tricorders from detecting them." 

"But none of the other crew had these nanites in their system?" Beverly clarified. 

"That is correct." 

Extracting the second implant, she put it in its own separate sample container beside the container that held the first implant. "Is there any reference to nanites in the medical logs? Maybe it was part of an experimental treatment for his hearing." 

"No, Doctor, no references," Selar paused, "I am opening a link to Commander Riker's office. He has been reviewing personal logs, the doctor may have mentioned them there." 

Beverly smiled at the familiar voice that came over the commlink. "Chakotay, have you or Will reviewed the doctor's personal logs yet?" 

"I just finished," Chakotay told her. "There aren't any personal logs for the past ten days; he was off the ship at the same medical conference that Deanna and you were at. Commander Riker has already contacted Deanna for your itineraries from the conference to see if you crossed paths." 

"That's why they were making a brief stop on Rigel IV," Beverly guessed, "picking up their doctor. Did any of his logs mention nanites or an experimental hearing treatment of some kind?" 

"No," Chakotay replied. 

Dr. Selar had a thought. "Could it have been the subject of a lecture at the conference? He might have started it recently and not entered it into his log yet." 

Beverly tried to recall the conference subjects. "Nanoprobes have become more of a research focus since Voyager," she said. "There's been at least one lecture on nanoprobe research at every conference for the past several years; but there hasn't been much talk about nanites at all." 

Chakotay directed a question to Selar. "We're sure those are nanites and not nanoprobes." 

"Yes, Commander," came the reply. 

Sighing in frustration, Beverly sealed the sample containers holding the hearing implants. "It's possible that the nanites interfered with his implants causing the aneurysm and subsequent hemorrhaging, but that doesn't tell us what he was doing with nanites in his system to start with." 

"Dr. Crusher," Selar spoke up. "Med lab sent some of the nanites down to Engineering for analysis, but they said it could be awhile before they have a report." 

Riker jumped into the conversation. "The doctor didn't attend any of the same events that Deanna or you did at the conference and there's no listing for a lecture on nanites even being held." 

Beverly shrugged to the empty room. "Since nobody else had nanites in their system, it likely wasn't anything contagious so we can at least stand down from the quarantine. I don't suppose my sweet, considerate husband could be persuaded to have a nice, hot meal ready for me?" 

Chakotay chuckled, relieved that the situation had de-escalated. "He might even have a nice, hot bubble bath and a thorough massage lined up, too." 

Riker clapped Chakotay on the shoulder, equally relieved. "The Eddington will be arriving momentarily. They can assume command of the passenger ship and escort them to the nearest port. Tell Deanna that her husband has chocolate waiting for her." 

Beverly laughed. "One more thing, Will. I'd like to have the doctor's body transferred to an iso-unit onboard the Enterprise. I still want to try to figure out this nanite mystery." 

"I'll submit your request to the Captain," Riker said. "See you soon." 

... 

Janeway reached out in the turbolift to straighten the collar on Morgan's uniform. While he was quite rakish, it wouldn't do for his uniform to be. They were heading to a briefing where, hopefully, the EMH could shed some light on the mystery bodies. The circumstances were troubling, but the opportunity to spend time with Morgan was very enjoyable. When the turbolift stopped, he chivalrously bowed to her, gesturing for her to precede him. The feel of his hand taking advantage of the opportunity to cup her backside briefly wasn't a surprise and her face betrayed no hint of the illicit contact. At the door to the briefing room, she stepped aside and indicated that Morgan should enter ahead of her. Her hand almost inadvertently brushed down the back of his uniform pants as she followed him in, glancing around the room to take note of the personnel already there. Standing near the viewscreen on one wall of the briefing room, the EMH was in conference with Seven and Harry, Tom and B'Elanna were joking across the table. She turned around at the sound of the door to see her First Officer and her Chief of Security arriving. "Good, we're all here. Let's get started." 

Once everyone had settled into their seats at the table, the EMH began his report. "The three bodies found near the Gamma 7 outpost died as a result of failed assimilation. As you are aware, the injection of nanoprobes is only the first step in the assimilation process; following that is the--" 

"Can we skip the Assimilation 101 lecture and get straight to the subject?" B'Elanna interrupted him. 

Janeway whole-heartedly concurred. "We are aware of the need for cortical nodes and such, Doctor. What can you tell us about these bodies?" 

"We're still working on identifying them," the EMH said. "The nanoprobes themselves are the only things we've been able to analyze. They are a match to Seven's nanoprobes, but they did not come from her." 

"Energy patterns indicate the use of replicator technology in producing them," Seven explained. 

Harry shook his head. "Someone tried to assimilate those men with nanoprobes that they popped out of a replicator?" 

"How long ago did this happen?" Bateson wanted to know. 

The EMH shrugged. "It's difficult to say with any certainty because of their prolonged exposure to space, but I'd say they've been dead anywhere from six to ten months, minimum." 

"Before we even knew about the sect," Tom pointed out. 

Tom's comment sparked a memory for Seven about her time as a prisoner of the Eh-Cu'oral. "Bal Win made a reference to a Plan A. Initially he wished me to assimilate them; but when I informed him that such an attempt under those circumstances would likely result in their deaths, he indicated that they would return to Plan A and contact the Borg." 

Janeway saw where she was going. "This must be their Plan B, creating their own Collective." 

"Creepier and creepier," B'Elanna said, suppressing a shiver. 

Harry looked at the notation on the PADD that the Voluspa Security Chief slid to him. He nodded. "It's right there in Seven's report of her kidnapping. It's been staring at us this whole time." 

Seven stiffened her posture, her eyes staring down at the table in front of her. "I believe I may have additional culpability." 

"Whoa, Seven," Harry said. "I didn't mean this was your fault. You included it in your report, we overlooked the significance, that's all I meant." 

"Thank you, Harry," she replied, "but I am also referring to the nanoprobes that killed those men." 

The EMH objected. "They were replicated based on your nanoprobes. All that means is that someone with access to your medical files is involved." 

Bateson sat forward, steepling his fingers in front of him. "How many people would have that kind of access?" 

"Too many," the EMH grumbled. 

Seven answered the question more directly. "A great many research projects are currently attempting to utilize nanoprobes in several areas of study. My nanoprobes have been the subject of thirty-four published papers over the past several years. A number of those were authored by our EMH, but there are still more than two dozen individuals utilizing samples of my nanoprobes or detailed information on my nanoprobes in their research." 

"That we know about," Janeway pointed out. "Still, it would be worth checking them out. Commander," she nodded to her First Officer. 

"Message to Starfleet; yes, Captain." 

Seven noted a name on a PADD and slid it to Janeway. "I would suggest investigating Dr. Levar on Vulcan as well." 

Janeway looked down at the PADD and back up to Seven. "Any particular reason?" 

"Levar and I had a brief relationship shortly after our arrival in the Alpha Quadrant," she explained. "I would not like to think that he could be involved in something like this, but he did have access to my nanoprobes. I believe the phrase 'leave no stone unturned' would be applicable here." 

Nodding, Janeway made a note on the PADD in front of her. "Tuvok is heading up the task force unit in Vulcan space. I'll send him a message asking him to look into this Dr. Levar's activities discretely." 

"How close were they to succeeding?" Harry asked the EMH, referring to the bodies. 

"Not at all," the EMH replied. "Cortical nodes are still beyond my ability to design and build; nobody outside of a Borg Collective could do it. The only real question is how many people they're going to kill before they give up." 

... 

"We know how the trip back went," Picard was saying, "but how was the conference?" Back aboard the Enterprise, Beverly and Chakotay along with Will, Deanna and the Picards were relaxing in Ten Forward. 

"Very interesting," Deanna said. "There were a number of very good psychology presentations this year including a meta-analysis of research on the impact of families onboard starships." 

Beverly jumped in. "We actually got the opportunity to sit in on a round table discussion on the use of married couples and families in deep space exploration." 

"I'm not sure how I'd feel about that," Picard replied. "Having commanded vessels with and without families, deep space exploration with families would be a big concern." 

Deanna supplied some of the background. "Much of the thinking on this comes out of a generational ship that Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant." 

"The Varro," Chakotay recalled. "Very xenophobic, but a fascinating culture. Their ship had been expanded out to accommodate their increasing numbers for something like four hundred years. They were almost completely self-sufficient, rarely interacting with anyone." 

Deanna nodded. "The premise is that a ship of mostly married couples and families could set out on expeditions of infinite length. Some psychologists are saying that married couples and families would provide more stability in long-term exploration in addition to the psychological conditioning of children; research suggests that kids who grow up on spaceships are more comfortable in space than planet-side. With the war over and most of the rebuilding done, Voyager seems to have sparked a renewed fascination with going where no one has gone before. Requests for posts on deep space exploration vessels have more than doubled since contact was first made with Voyager in the Delta Quadrant and they're looking for ways to improve deep space operations." 

"The round table was mostly a discussion of an expedition they're planning to the Delta Quadrant," Beverly said. "Well toward the Delta Quadrant anyway. They'd send a convoy of at least three ships, a large one like a Galaxy-class, a science vessel and a military escort. With the data stream transmissions that they used to communicate with Voyager, regular contact could be maintained with the Alpha Quadrant and the advances in hyper-drive technology would even allow for some personnel rotation and supply drops on an irregular basis. The focus would be on pure exploration and first contacts. It would almost be a traveling, interstellar Federation colony." 

"You sound pretty excited about it," Picard noted. 

Beverly shrugged. "They're still discussing the logistics and the ships are being designed based in part on the Varro's ship and the Voth city ship among others, so the expedition wouldn't be leaving any time soon. Starfleet is holding a series of round table discussions in the various ship's operations departments to try to work out any potential problems." 

Vash regarded Beverly thoughtfully. "Are you thinking about signing on?" 

Riker gestured casually. "They'll need good doctors out there; maybe you're getting a little itch for some frontier medicine?" 

Beverly looked at Chakotay before she answered. "They'll also need good Captains and it would be a great opportunity. I took the command test for that reason; of course, I have more to consider now than what I want." 

Chakotay leaned over to brush her cheek with his lips. "I go where you go. They'll need a first contact team, which I have experience with, and I'm always willing to service--serve under you," he amended with a wink and a grin. "If that's what you want, as long as we're together I'm happy." 

"It'll be several years yet," Beverly shrugged outwardly but inwardly she was thrilled at Chakotay's reply. 

Just then Geordi and Data approached the group. 

"What is it, Geordi?" Deanna asked, getting an uncomfortable feeling from the Chief Engineer. 

Geordi studied her and then scrutinized Beverly. "Are you feeling all right, Counselor? Doctor?" 

"What's wrong, Geordi?" Riker asked. 

Pointing to his eyes, he gestured toward the two women. "I'm picking up something strange about them." 

Picard stood and straightened his uniform jacket, his casual demeanor of a moment ago gone. "Strange how?" 

"Nanites," Geordi replied. "Their bodies are infested with nanites; they're everywhere." 

Beverly and Deanna exchanged alarmed glances, both women reaching for their husbands' hands. 

"I thought you said they weren't contagious, Doctor," Picard said. 

"None of the other crew members on the passenger ship had nanites in their system," Beverly explained. Her mind was racing back through everything she'd done, every decision she'd made, trying to account for this unforeseen circumstance. "We didn't even come into contact with the doctor until just before his death. It didn't seem likely that the nanites were contagious given the evidence. At any rate, Deanna and I need to get to the med lab and be isolated." 

Chakotay stopped her from rising. "Geordi, do I have these nanites?" 

"No, the only people I've seen with them are Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi." 

Riker cradled Deanna's hand in his larger hands. "Then they probably aren't contagious." 

"We got them somehow," Deanna pointed out wanting to move closer to Will but feeling like she should pull away. Her own fear and frustration was being compounded by a growing sense of alarm from every direction. 

"You were at the same conference as the doctor," Riker pointed out. 

Chakotay pulled Beverly against him. "If I don't have them at this point, then it's more likely you were exposed at the conference." 

"All the same," Beverly said. "We should take some samples and try to isolate whatever is going on." 

Picard turned to Crusher. "Wasn't everyone on the passenger ship cleared before the quarantine was lifted?" 

"Scanned," Beverly corrected. "These nanites don't show up on standard medical scans; they were detected in a spectral analysis. It didn't seem necessary to re-scan everybody when those closest to the doctor during his episode weren't infected." 

Picard looked to Data. "Mr. Data, can you see these nanites?" 

"It requires an adjustment to my visual processors," he answered, "but yes, I can." 

The Captain nodded and pointed first to Geordi and then toward the android. "Mr. LaForge, I want you and Data to split up and check everyone else on the ship for nanites. I'll send a message to the Eddings and have them run a spectral analysis of the passenger ship and the passengers and crew before they allow anyone to disembark." 

"I'll get Lefler to put together a work detail to re-configure internal sensors for spectral scans," Geordi replied, "But it'll be quicker for right now if Data and I split up and just take a look at everyone." 

"And we," Beverly's smile was tight and cold as she looked at Deanna, "have a long night ahead of us in Sickbay." 

... 

In the captain's quarters onboard the Voluspa that evening, candlelight flickered across a romantic dinner for two. Morgan held Kathryn's chair for her, waiting until she was comfortably settled before sitting down across from her. "You know, the last time I was on the Enterprise, Commander Chakotay warned me to beware of your relationship with replicators. Would you care to explain?" 

Janeway laughed, shaking her head in bemusement. "It's a conspiracy, replicators hate me." 

"Everything tastes perfect," Bateson said, indicating the meal in front of him. 

With a slightly disgusted expression, she admitted, "My Chief Engineer threatened me if I so much as touch any replicator on the ship. Apparently she thinks I'm mean to them." 

Morgan leaned back in his chair laughing. "Poor Kathryn." 

"If anybody hears about that . . . " she warned him good-naturedly. It wasn't as if her relationship with replicators wasn't already legendary. 

"You'll what?" he bantered back. 

"You're impossible." 

Bateson shot her a wink. "You've proven otherwise quite a few times, my dear Kathryn. You'll probably be proving it again after dinner if that glint in your eyes is any indication." 

"You're no spring chicken," she pointed out with a mischievous grin. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather go back to the Bozeman and get a good night's sleep?" 

"I can sleep anytime; I don't get to spend time with you all that often." 

Janeway reached across the table to lay her hand in his. "Unfortunately, tomorrow it's back to work. I want you to return to the coordinates where those bodies were found and conduct a thorough search of that whole area." 

"See if we can find where those assimilation experiments might have taken place," Bateson acknowledged. His thumb stroked the soft skin between her thumb and forefinger in a reassuring gesture before he continued. "I know you were assimilated yourself once; if you want to talk about it . . . " 

She squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Morgan. It has brought up some unpleasant memories, but getting assimilated was my idea. It was part of a masterful plan that more or less worked; at least that's what I keep telling myself." 

"Well then," he laid his napkin on the table and, without releasing her hand, stood and drew her to her feet. "What say I give you some pleasant memories to hold onto until we see each other again." 

She went easily into his arms, tilting her face up to met his questing lips. A hundred years and 70,000 light years had been spanned for the two of them to find each other, mind-boggling in so many ways. Morgan was so different from any man that she had ever known; he was a throwback to a time when Starfleet captains were much more physical. His tongue shoved its way past her lips to stroke and tease the sensitive depths of her mouth. Shivering with anticipation under the strong hands holding and caressing her, she pressed herself closer to his lean body and relished the more pleasurable aspects of his physicality. When he broke the kiss and pulled back, she forced her eyes open and gazed into the incredibly blue eyes looking down at her. 

Breathing heavily, he reached up to pull open her uniform jacket and slid it down her arms, tossing it onto the sofa. "Just when in the past century did bureaucrats decide that Starfleet officers needed to wear so many layers of uniform?" 

Kathryn grinned and winked at him as she removed his uniform jacket. "Getting there is half the fun." 

"I blame Kirk," he said, slowly tugging her shirt out of her waistband. "The man simply could not keep his clothes on; he was constantly getting his uniforms torn off. Starfleet must have re-designed the uniforms to be Kirk-proof." 

She just laughed and raised her arms to help him strip her shirt off. Grabbing his uniform shirt, she removed it continuing to match him article for article. "It's still a little strange to think that you're actually old enough to have known James Kirk in his heyday." 

He melodramatically grabbed her by her shoulders and, in his best Kirk impersonation said, "Too much of anything, even clothes, isn't necessarily a good thing." 

Kathryn broke into giggles and raised her hands to caress his face. "Why don't we move this into the bedroom and you can start going boldly." 

Sliding his hands down her arms, he covered her hands with his and took them in his grasp. He began walking backward toward the bedroom, pulling her with him and still doing his Kirk impression. "There are certain things men must do to remain men." 

... 

Beverly closed her eyes letting the gentle, rhythmic motions of her husband sweep over her. His strong hands were massaging the tense muscles of her neck and back, carefully avoiding the neurocortical monitor that she wore as a precaution. It was really the soft, soothing voice in her ear telling her that everything would be all right that was succeeding in relaxing her. It would have required massive amounts of security and forcefields to get him away from her not to mention Will with Deanna and ultimately she didn't have the strength or the inclination to force a separation. Chakotay had a point, after their earlier reunion when she'd first gotten home, if he wasn't infected then the nanites likely weren't highly contagious. His presence was also reassuring, comforting in the face of a frightening situation. She kept reminding herself that the deceased doctor had hearing implants that had been the likely cause of his psychotic episode and aneurysm, but that didn't stop her from checking the readings from the monitors that Deanna and she were wearing every half hour. It also didn't explain where the nanites came from to begin with. She leaned back against the solid warmth of Chakotay's broad chest and laid her head on his shoulder, snuggling into his embrace when his arms came up to enfold her. Deanna was laying across Will's lap dozing, but Beverly's mind had been too agitated to sleep. Now, with night long gone, fatigue and stress was catching up with her and her eyes slowly drifted shut. 

"The conference!" Deanna gasped, startling everyone. She sat up and looked around for Beverly. "Remember that man who ran into us?" 

"We both felt a shock when he shook our hands," Beverly recalled. She reached around to snag a medical tricorder and scanned the palm of her hand. "There it is, that must be; tissue readings suggest that something was injected there within the past week." 

Will helped Deanna up and followed her over to where Beverly and Chakotay were sitting. He watched as Beverly scanned Deanna's palm and confirmed the presence of identical tissue readings. "Did you get a name?" he asked. 

"Jos Mith," Deanna supplied. 

Chakotay slid out from behind Beverly and headed for the computer console. "It's probably fake, but we should check anyway." 

Just then the door opened to admit Data and a young ensign looking very scared. Data handed a PADD to Beverly before reporting to Riker. "Commander LaForge and I have scanned every individual onboard the Enterprise including animal life forms. Ensign Khande is the only additional individual infected." 

"Anya, isn't it?" Deanna asked trying to calm the frightened young woman. 

The ensign nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I just graduated from the Academy last month. This is my first posting; I work in Astrometrics. I was in the middle of my duty shift." 

"I'll have your duty shifts covered for the time being," Riker assured her. 

Beverly scanned the woman and gently attached a neurocortical monitor. "You're fine, this is just a precaution." 

"Because they killed that other man," Anya said in a broken, trembling voice. 

"He had implants that none of us have," Beverly reassured her. "Let's just get some tissue and blood samples from you and see where we are." 

While Deanna and Beverly took care of the ensign, Riker drew Chakotay and Data aside. "Data, have you been able to analyze those nanites?" 

"Engineering has completed their analysis of the nanites found in the deceased. A preliminary comparison indicates that the nanites currently in Dr. Crusher and Counselor Riker are a match to those found in the doctor. The nanites appear to be programmed to assume control of all non-autonomic brain functions; however, there are no encoded instructions beyond that. As they are currently inactive, the brain functions are unaffected by their presence." 

Chakotay suggested an explanation. "They might be waiting to receive instructions, a transmission of some sort." 

"What about those nanites we left on Kavis Alpha IV?" Riker had been thinking about that incident for the past several hours. 

"I also considered that possibility," Data said. "I analyzed the energy signatures and the composition and found significant differences. In addition, you will recall that those nanites were sentient and capable of communication. These nanites are not." 

"Sentient nanites?" Chakotay echoed. 

Riker shrugged. "Long story, ask Beverly about it. Wes was sort of their father, which would make her their grandmother in a way." 

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Picard. He joined the three men and paused as Beverly came over. "Doctor." 

"Captain, we're fine so far. Ensign Khande from Astrometrics is the only other person with nanite infection. She's pretty upset, I gave her a light sedative and Deanna's sitting with her until she falls asleep," Beverly reported. 

Picard nodded. "The Eddings just sent us a message. There were no other individuals onboard either ship with nanites; whatever this is, it would seem to be contained at least." 

"I would respectfully disagree, sir," Data said. "Ensign Khande transferred aboard twenty-nine days ago. She was not among the personnel who beamed into the quarantine nor has she been near Dr. Crusher or Counselor Riker since their return." 

Chakotay had to agree with Data. "Beverly and Deanna recall bumping into a man at the conference and getting a physical jolt when they shook hands. The doctor on the passenger ship was at the same conference so it's likely that he bumped into the same man." 

"But," Riker voiced the monkey wrench in their working theory. "Ensign Khande just graduated from the Academy and has been onboard the Enterprise for the past month." 

Picard rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Data, for some reason my mind has been trying to connect nanites with the Borg. Does that make any sense to you?" 

"Yes, sir," Data replied promptly. "Nanites were previously considered as a weapon against the Borg until it was determined that they would act too slowly to be of any use at Wolf 359. Currently there is on-going research in that area, however it has been classified by order of Starfleet Command. I could submit a request . . . " 

Picard waved him off. "No, I'd bet it was shifted to the task force purview, which would be why it was classified. I'll send a communique to Janeway requesting information on their nanite projects, see if there's anything they can contribute to this mystery." 

"Data," Riker began. "Is there any way to program the transporters to filter out these nanites?" 

Data shook his head. "No, sir. Geordi and I already considered that. The organic component that prevents their detection by anything other than a spectral scan would also prevent transporters from detecting and filtering them." 

Chakotay rested his hand on Beverly's shoulder. "If Deanna and you can recall what that man looked like, we can try to get a picture of him. Even if the name is fake, an image might turn something up." 

As everyone began breaking away to begin work on their various tasks, Data realized that they were overlooking something significant from their discussion. "May I suggest engaging a Level 5 dampening field around this section." 

Picard, who had started toward the door, stopped and looked at the android quizzically. "Data?" 

"Transmissions," Riker and Chakotay blurted out in unison. 

Riker quickly filled Beverly and Picard in on their prior conversation about the nanites. Contacting Lar, he left to meet the Security Chief to work out the necessary details for maintaining dampening fields around the three women without adversely affecting ship operations any more than necessary. Picard left to send the communique to Janeway, asking Data to walk with him in order to brief him on their progress to date. Beverly got Deanna's attention, motioning for her to step away from Anya's bedside and told her the most recent information while the two of them tried to reconstruct what Jos Mith looked like. 

... 

Picard was sitting at his desk in his ready room trying to concentrate on the reports in front of him. Three of his crew members were under attack--of sorts--and he was helpless to do anything but watch. He stood up to retrieve a fresh cup of tea when his computer console chirped to announce an incoming message. He sat back down and activated the viewscreen. "Kathryn, good to see you." 

"Jean-Luc," Janeway greeted him warmly. "I received your request for information on the nanite research projects. I have my head of research putting together everything we're working on, but I was curious about the sudden interest." 

Picard sighed. "Unfortunately we seem to have stumbled into a troubling mystery and we were hoping that the information would help somehow." He went on to fill her in on the situation that had occurred aboard the passenger ship and the subsequent discovery of the nanites. 

"Have you been able to analyze their programming?" Janeway asked. 

Reaching for the PADD with the report from Engineering, he located the relevant information. "They're programmed to take over all non-autonomic functions in the brain, but there's no indication of what they're supposed to do after that. They have an organic component that renders them invisible to everything except spectral scans and are pervasive throughout the body. My people think that their presence in body tissue is for enhanced motor control in conjunction with commands sent from the nanites in the brain. Most of what we have are theories since they're inactive." 

"How did they kill that doctor?" 

"Dr. Crusher determined that he died of an aneurysm. Her theory is that these nanites caused a problem with hearing implants that the doctor had which led to the aneurysm; so the nanites weren't directly responsible for his death, just a factor. Hopefully she's right since these nanites have been discovered in three members of my crew. As a precaution, we're keeping them behind a dampening field to block any transmissions from activating the nanites. We've established that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Riker were both at the same medical conference recently as the doctor on the passenger ship, but an ensign just out of the Academy who hasn't been off the ship in nearly a month is also infected. She wasn't among the personnel who assisted in the situation on the passenger ship and had no contact with any of the personnel who did. As far as we can tell, she's been infected with these nanites since before she arrived here a month ago. Her nanites show evidence suggestive of a previous activation but they're currently dormant." 

Janeway sat forward in her chair. "Dr. Crusher, Commander Chakotay's wife?" 

"Yes." 

Sometimes rank had very helpful privileges, like now and the authority that came with heading up a priority task force unit. A friend and former member of her crew was in trouble and she didn't hesitate to jump in with all of the resources at her disposal. Chakotay's wedding reception had been one of the early social functions that Morgan had escorted her to, she'd do whatever she could to help Chakotay and his wife now. "I'd like you to forward me all of the reports on this situation, Jean-Luc. In fact, I'd like the Enterprise to rendezvous with the Voluspa as soon as possible. Our priority right now is figuring out how to get those nanites out of your people, then we can worry about how they got there. I'll have my research people start analyzing what you've got so far and comparing it with our data files. The information you asked for will be transmitted as soon as possible so we can get straight to work on a solution by the time our ships meet up." 

Punching several keys on his computer console, he acknowledged. "All relevant files and logs are transmitting now. We'll alter course and proceed at Warp 5." 

Just then she made a chilling connection with something Picard had said about the nanites' programming. Given the recent discovery of the bodies with nanoprobes, this situation with nanites had eerie implications. "Make it Warp 7. In the meantime, I'm going to send a coded communique to all task force members to quietly start scanning people for these nanites. I have a bad feeling that you may have inadvertently hit the tip of a very ugly iceberg." 

Picard eyed the viewscreen thoughtfully. "I get the impression that you think these nanites are connected to something else." 

Janeway shrugged and waved her hands in a gesture of frustrated uncertainty. "Right now that's all I have, a very bad feeling. Let's put our heads together and deal with these nanites first, though. We can connect the dots later." 

... 

The Bozeman entered a new section of the search grid that they had been running. Harry initiated the standard security scans, watching the display for any indication of activity. The search was monotonous and had yet to turn anything up; but considering the stakes, they couldn't afford to miss anything. 

"I hear you finally won a game of darts, Harry," Wick commented from his seat in the command chair. 

Harry grinned. "Against Crewman Bornes in maintenance," he confirmed with a touch of pride in his voice. 

Wick winked at the helmsman before turning back toward the security post. "Just how drunk was he?" 

"He was perfectly clear-headed," Harry asserted defensively. "I beat him fair and square." 

"By the skin of your teeth, according to scuttlebutt," Wick shot back. 

Wrinkling his nose at the First Officer, he said. "A win is a win whether it was by one point or one hundred points." 

"I've got something," the ops officer announced, interrupting the good-natured banter. 

Harry immediately re-directed his attention to his viewscreen. "Asteroid field?" he asked, clarifying the source of the ops officer's concern. It was a minor blip that had just entered the scope of the long-range scanners, but there was definitely an energy signal emanating from the asteroid field that indicated potential activity. 

"Yes, sir." 

Wick addressed the helm. "Set a course, get us closer." He reached for the intercom and opened a channel to the captain's ready room. "Captain to the Bridge." 

Fastening up his uniform jacket as he strode out onto the Bridge, Bateson slid into the command chair before requesting a status report. "What have you got, Wick?" 

"Energy readings coming from an asteroid field," the First Officer reported. 

"There's a signal being generated that I can't identify," the ops officer said. "It's coming from one of the larger asteroids. There's also energy readings and a forcefield with a breathable atmosphere inside. I am reading life signs. I'm having trouble--" 

"Forty-three life signs," Harry supplied. 

The ops officer tapped several keys on his console, shaking his head in confusion. "I'm not getting a clean read on the life signs." 

Harry's fingers danced across his console and he nodded over at the ops station. "Lay this algorithm over the readings and re-run the scan." 

"Forty-three life signs confirmed," the ops officer announced. 

"I don't suppose you have an algorithm up your sleeve to figure out that signal being transmitted," Bateson commented drily. 

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, sir, fresh out." 

Wick was monitoring the sensor results from a science station. "It looks like a compressed data stream." 

Studying the signal, Harry tried de-compiling the data, isolating bits of it in an effort to make some sense of it. Something about it was pulling at him, trying to spark a memory. He'd seen this data configuration somewhere before. 

"Yes, sir," the ops officer confirmed the First Officer's guess. "The data seems to be extremely fragmented, though. It could be encoded or it could be that weird language thing that the Eh-Cu'oral sect uses. Those files look like gibberish unless you know hieroglyphs." 

Bateson noticed Harry's intense concentration and the fact that he hadn't yet provided an analysis of his own. "Mr. Kim?" 

"Sorry, sir, some of the information in the data stream appear to be instructions but they're extremely fragmented and some of them appear to repeat multiple times. I've seen this configuration somewhere before, I just can't quite put my finger on it." 

"They used compressed data streams to communicate with Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, didn't they?" Bateson asked. 

Harry nodded in confirmation and started to answer when Bateson's reference to the Delta Quadrant struck him. An image of Species 6339 flashed through his mind. "Borg vinculum." 

"No sign of Borg activity in the vicinity," the ops officer said, quickly double-checking the sensors. 

"This signal," Harry clarified. "That's where I've seen it before, coming from a damaged Borg vinculum. It's sort of a central processing unit on Borg cubes; they're the point where all of the Borg minds are connected. The carrier wave in this signal is a neural frequency similar to Borg neural interlink transmissions. I think this signal is being used to direct and control . . . " his voice trailed off when he couldn't find the right words to end the sentence. 

Bateson stood and walked over to the security station. "Can you tell from the life sign readings?" he asked softly. They couldn't ignore the possibility that the sect had succeeded in their assimilation experiments and created their own Collective. 

Harry reviewed the readings. "It'll take me awhile to clean up these readings enough to be that specific," he reported. 

"Get to it," Bateson ordered. "In the meantime, go to yellow alert and ready shields and weapons but don't bring them online just yet. I want us to start running routine scans, make it look like this is just a survey expedition. Let's try not to raise any suspicions if they're even aware we're here." 

... 

Chakotay leaned against the doorway to Beverly's office just watching her intently working on a medical tricorder. He knew that she hadn't slept more than a few hours over the past several days--ever since the situation on the passenger ship began; he also knew that getting her out of Sickbay was going to be almost impossible. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and kiss away every fear reflected in those beautifully expressive eyes. A part of him wished that he was the one infected, that would be a lot easier to deal with than seeing the woman he loved terrified and him helpless to protect her. "I saw Ensign Khande back to her quarters. With the rolling dampening fields, it took longer to get there, but both she and Deanna are safely ensconced in the comfort of their dampening field-shielded quarters. Lar said to just let him know when you want to go to our quarters." 

"Anya shouldn't be alone," Beverly muttered, ignoring that last part. 

"She's not," he said crossing over to perch on the edge of her desk. "A couple of her friends and some of the Astrometrics crew have arranged it so that one of them is with her at all times and as I was leaving I passed Vash in the corridor. She was stopping in to see Anya and taking her some chocolate. I tried to tell her that chicken soup is the traditional dish for such a thing to which she tartly informed me that chocolate is chicken soup for the soul." 

Beverly barely heard a word he said. Vaguely she realized that he had said something to try and cheer her up, but at the moment she needed to concentrate. She scanned herself with the medical tricorder again and slammed it down in frustration. "Damnit!" 

Reaching out to capture her hands, he moved them away from the defenseless tricorder. "What are you trying to do, besides smash that tricorder?" 

"I'm trying to re-calibrate it to detect the nanites," she said. Resolutely refusing to give in to the tears of frustration and fear burning her eyes, she pulled free of his grasp and picked up her tools to try again. 

This time when he caught her hands he pulled her up and toward him, trapping her between his legs. "Isn't Geordi working on that?" 

"I need to do something," Beverly whispered. "I have to--" 

Chakotay reached out, entwining his fingers through her silky, auburn tresses and silenced her with a tender kiss. He felt her initial resistance melt away and he wrapped his arm around her waist to press her body closer to his. His lips crushed hers and his tongue flicked out to moisten them before slipping past to caress the moist recesses of her mouth. Using his hand in her hair he tilted her face slightly, deepening the kiss. If it was possible for him to take her fears away, he would and his kiss tried to convey that emotion to her. He pulled back when he felt moisture on his cheek. "You're not alone, Fireball," he uttered softly, wiping the tears from her face. 

Burying her face in the crook of his shoulder, she clung to him as tightly as she could. She hated feeling helpless and she more than hated to cry, but at that moment she was just tired and scared. In his arms, resting against that broad chest, she felt almost safe. 

He stroked her hair, just holding her as she released the days of tension that had been building up. "I'm right here," he said. "There are a lot of people on the Enterprise working on this and now there are a lot of people on the Voluspa working on this." 

She sniffled away the last of her tears, gratefully accepting the tissue that he handed her. Very few people had ever seen her cry and Chakotay was probably one of the only ones who had witnessed multiple episodes--which never seemed to faze him. "Why the Voluspa?" 

"Captain Picard contacted them for information on their nanite research. He just let me know that we're rendezvousing with them at Captain Janeway's request; as soon as she heard about you she put all of the resources on the Voluspa at your disposal. Their work with nanites might help us find a way to fix this. B'Elanna heads up the research lab there and Seven and the Doctor are both on the Voluspa as well; if anyone can help, they can. I may not have friends in the high places that you do, but I have friends in helpful places who will do everything they can to help you for me." 

"My hero," Beverly sighed melodramatically with just a hint of a grin. 

Chakotay hit his commbadge. "Chakotay to Commander Lar, whenever you're ready." 

"Acknowledged," came the quick response. "You can start back to your quarters on the pre-determined route in five minutes." 

Dropping a brief kiss on her lips, he remarked. "Your hero may not be carrying you off to a remote castle to be ravished, but he is going to carry you off to our quarters." 

Beverly nuzzled his cheek in tacit surrender. "Does that mean my being ravished is completely out of the question?" 

... 

Harry forced himself to focus on the readings in front of him, carefully overlaying algorithms and re-running the scan dozens of times. This work was even more tedious than the monotony of the search had been. Each individual data point needed to be delineated and analyzed both on its own and in conjunction with surrounding data points. There was no margin for error, the analysis had to be perfect in order for them to get the most accurate results. He wasn't sure how much time had passed in the tense silence of the Bridge before he breathed a sigh of relief. "I found a Bolian life sign," he announced. 

"Harry?" Wick asked. 

"If they'd been assimilated, I wouldn't be picking up individual races," Harry explained. "I've definitely got Bolian life signs and what looks to be at least a couple dozen humanoid life signs as well as Andorian, Antican, some Vulcan or Romulan--I can't be precise there." 

Bateson breathed his own sigh of relief. "Not Borg." 

"And no sign of nanoprobes in any of them," Harry's voice held an edge of confused frustration. "So what's the signal for?" 

Swiveling in his command chair, Bateson addressed the ops officer. "Run a spectral scan on that facility and everyone in it." 

"Captain?" Harry asked as the ops officer complied. 

"Communique from Captain Janeway," Bateson explained. "I was just reading it before you found this. She's instructing all task force members to run spectral scans on their crew and report any nanite infections that are found. I'll forward a copy of the order to you for the security log." 

Harry nodded, keying in a notation on his console. "It'll take several hours to re-configure internal sensors for a spectral scan of the crew, I'll have a security team get on it." 

"Nanite presence in the asteroid facility confirmed," the ops officer noted. "They're localized to the life sign readings." 

"Could that explain this vinculum-type data stream?" Wick offered. "Maybe they switched to nanites when their nanoprobe experiments failed." 

Bateson nodded, pointing in agreement at his First Officer. "This could be a test of their newest efforts. If they're far enough along in their experiments to have a working . . . vinculum, for lack of a better term, then the nanites that Janeway wants us to look for may be a bigger problem than anybody realizes. Mr. Kim, launch a probe to monitor the situation here. Helm, move us off into the next search grid. I want to avoid any suggestion that we've discovered them or are interested in them. We'll send a coded transmission on what we've found from somewhere else, just to be on the safe side. I want the results of the spectral scan of this crew as soon as possible." 

Harry configured and launched the requested probe. "Probe launched. Request permission to leave the Bridge, Captain." 

"Is there a problem, Commander?" 

Harry started to answer and just shrugged. "If that vinculum is communicating with the nanites and one or more of our crew is infected with nanites somehow, we may have a security situation. It's probably nothing, but given our proximity to that signal, until we complete the scan I'd recommend we implement Security Protocol 37 Beta. I'd also like to take a security team and do a sweep just to make sure everything is all right." 

"Good thinking, Mr. Kim," Bateson commended him. "Permission granted" 

... 

Chakotay shoved the PADDs on his desk aside and accessed the computer. His time as a First Officer came in very handy at times, like now as he accessed the security system and pulled up the security monitor in the med lab. There she was, working. She had eaten and slept, he had managed to keep her in their quarters for nearly ten hours before she insisted on getting back to work. He wasn't alone, Deanna was in her office seeing patients herself which Commander Riker hadn't been too happy about. Of the three, only Ensign Khande was remaining in her quarters. On his computer screen, Beverly took some readings and sighed, running her fingers through her hair. This was the first time since he'd left command for anthropology that he almost regretted it. There was nothing he could do but watch, nano-technology was beyond his expertise; Beverly knew more about the research going on in the various departments trying to solve this problem--she was conducting some of it herself. He didn't even know what Picard was doing about this. Knowing the close, lifelong friendship that existed between Beverly and the captain, he was sure everything possible was being done; he just wasn't used to being out of the loop. 

The door chime to his office interrupted his contemplation and he shut down the link to the med lab before answering. "Come." 

"Hello, Chakotay," Janeway entered his office with a warm smile. 

"Captain Janeway," Chakotay started to stand only to be casually waved back down. He nodded in response to her gesture toward the chair across from his desk. 

Sitting down, she leaned back and crossed her legs. "I just thought I'd stop by to see you before the briefing. How are you and Beverly doing with all of this?" 

"I think she's handling it better than I am," he admitted. "My opponents in my holodeck boxing program have been getting pretty badly beaten over the past couple of days. Bev, on the other hand, just spends hours in the med lab calmly doing meticulous research trying to find a solution. Security is maintaining dampening fields around all three infected crew members at all times, but we don't even know for sure that it would stop someone from activating those things." 

"You won't lose her, Chakotay," Janeway's voice was soft but firm. "I promise you that. We'll figure this out." 

Chakotay just nodded, wanting to believe her but not able to voice it. Kathryn Janeway was a formidable woman who usually accomplished what she set her mind to. 

"In the meantime," she commented drily, one eyebrow arched imperiously. "We need to talk about your information-sharing with Morgan about me." 

In spite of his current concerns, the corners of his mouth twitched. "Captain Bateson is a good man, it's obvious he cares a great deal about you." 

"Yes, he is," Janeway agreed with a big smile, "and the feeling is mutual. So exactly which stories have you told him about me?" 

Chakotay appeared to think the matter over. "Which ones has he told you that I told him?" 

"So far just the replicator issue." 

Dimples flashed at her as he winked. "Don't be surprised if he bows to you at some point. He found the Queen Arachnia and Lord Chaotica adventures quite entertaining. I suggested --just trying to be helpful--that he talk to Tom about getting a copy of those chapters from the Captain Proton program." 

Janeway closed her eyes, her head falling to rest in the palm of her hand. "Oh God." 

... 

Owing to the necessity of keeping Beverly inside of a dampening field, the meeting between the two ship's personnel was held in a small meeting room in the medical section. The size of the room limited the number of people in attendance, so Janeway, B'Elanna, Seven and the EMH joined Picard, Data and Beverly to review possible solutions. 

"All right, let's get started," Picard said. 

Riker rushed into the room with a PADD in his hand. He nodded to Picard and Janeway, sliding into an empty seat at the table. "Sorry I'm late, sir. We just heard back from the authorities on Rigel IV and they have no record of a Jos Mith arriving or departing from the planet. The image that Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi put together on the computer hasn't turned up anything either. The Rigellian authorities are scanning security footage from the time of the conference and we've forwarded the image to Starfleet to compare to photo records there but so far, no luck." 

"Do we have a copy of that image of the suspect?" Janeway asked, checking her notes. 

Picard replied. "No, that image wasn't available when I forwarded the files to you. Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi believe that this man is the one who infected them with nanites on Rigel IV. They were working on getting a composite of him based on their memories when I spoke with you before. I'll see that you get a copy of it, but at this point I'm more concerned about removing these nanites from my people." 

Janeway began with the option they'd been working on since they'd received the information. "Since they seem to be waiting for instructions, what about giving them some? We could try to program them to leave the body." 

"We've worked up some programming code," B'Elanna said. "We're still not quite there in computer simulations, but if we had some actual nanites to work with, it might help." 

Data tilted his head. "I have been attempting the same solution using the nanites, similarly without success. Perhaps if we compared notes, there might be a solution." 

"At what point have your efforts failed?" Seven asked. 

Data pulled up a schematic of the nanites. "The nanites are programmed to control non-autonomic functions in the brain, but they would appear to require additional instruction beyond that. I have attempted to provide the instruction to exit the body but they would seem to lack the ability to store and execute commands." 

"No memory?" B'Elanna clarified. 

"So what are they supposed to do?" Riker asked. 

Janeway accessed the records on the three mystery bodies that the Bozeman had retrieved. "Recently three bodies were discovered floating in space near the Gamma 7 outpost. They died of a failed assimilation attempt using replicated nanoprobes. Our Doctor estimates that they've been dead since before Seven's kidnapping. During her time with that cell, the leader made a reference to a Plan B which we think is to create their own Collective." 

"You think these nanites are part of that plan," Picard said. 

Data quickly analyzed the feasibility. "It would require very powerful transmitters spread throughout the Federation in order to continuously maintain control of any significant number of infected individuals." 

B'Elanna finished his thought. "But that would explain why there's no way to re-program them. Once they're activated, the signal from the transmitter would constantly control a person's every thought and action." 

The EMH studied the PADD he held. "Do we know what frequency activates them? We could program sensors to scan for it." 

"It did not seem wise to attempt to activate the nanites within proximity of infected individuals," Data pointed out. 

Beverly took a deep, calming breath before she offered her research. With barely any drama at all, they had announced that she'd been assimilated pending the initiation of this theoretical transmitter and they were now discussing how that activation would happen and on what frequency. "I've been working on a way to mark the nanites with a radioactive isotope to make them visible to medical instruments. Once I can find them in the body, I should be able to target and remove them. So far, I've had no luck getting the isotope to attach to them." 

Seven suggested the option that the EMH and she had discussed. "The only remaining possibility is the utilization of my nanoprobes." 

"Nanoprobes?" Riker reiterated. "As in what you just said killed those three people?" 

The EMH explained. "We would program the nanoprobes to target the nanites. Once they are injected into the infected individuals, they would isolate and destroy the nanites." 

"The last thing we need is more mechanical bugs in our bodies," Beverly commented. 

"I have used this method to treat a number of medical problems with a great deal of success," the EMH asserted a bit defensively. "In one case, a concussion--" 

Beverly interrupted the hologram. "I have read your work on nanoprobes in medical applications and I have kept up with the current research at Starfleet Medical. I just don't think turning my body into a nano-technological battlefield would be helpful right now." 

Janeway held up a hand, tacitly ordering the EMH to silence. "Once the nanoprobes complete their work, they're eliminated from the body. I can understand your concerns, but I assure you that our Doctor has used nanoprobes a number of times." 

Picard sighed. "It would seem to be the only viable option at this point. How long do you need to prepare?" 

"It'll take several hours to extract and program them," the EMH said. "Once I've injected them, it might take minutes, hours or even a day to see if it worked." 

Janeway nodded to Seven and the EMH. "Doctor, why don't you and Seven go back to the Voluspa and--" 

"Wait a minute!" Beverly snapped harshly as she slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "I don't know what alternate universe you all think you're living in, but in this universe I am the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise and there will be no medical procedures administered to any member of the Enterprise crew without my authorization. You certainly can't order anyone to allow Borg nanoprobes to be injected into them. I want to see every bit of data on any experimentation that's been done with nanoprobes and all of the medical logs from those incidents--not just what you submitted for publication. After I've reviewed everything and if I approve, I will explain it to Counselor Troi and Ensign Khande to obtain their consent." She glared around the table, daring anyone to challenge her authority. 

"Of course, Doctor," Janeway was the first to acknowledge her. "You'll have whatever you need at your disposal. We didn't intend to overstep anything; we're just here to help." 

Picard stood, straightening his uniform jacket. "Doctor Crusher, I'm sure you want to get to your review. Mr. Data, I think you should work with Ms. Torres, provide her with some of the nanites and see what the two of you can come up with. Dismissed." 

"The research lab on the Voluspa is shielded," B'Elanna offered. "We could try to activate one of them more safely there." 

As everyone began filing out, Picard stopped Janeway. "Would you care to join me for some tea?" 

"That depends," she said, following his lead in ignoring Dr. Crusher's outburst. They both understood where it had come from. "Do you know any good stories about Morgan?" 

"A few," Picard admitted with a grin. 

"Lead the way." 

... 

Harry and his security team had just finished their sweep when his commbadge chirped. "Kim here." 

"Commander, we're ready to initiate the spectral scan," security reported. "We'll have to go deck by deck so we'll need people to stay where they are for at least two hours." 

"Understood and stand by," he told them. He headed for his office where he called Bateson to let him know that they were ready. As he pulled up the sensor data on the asteroid to study, he heard the captain making the general announcement to the crew about the imminent scan. Turbolifts were being locked down so, unless there was an emergency, he had two hours to try to make sense of that signal. 

Deck by deck the reports came in. Each time the scan was completed on one deck, the results were transmitted to Captain Bateson and to the security office. More than half of the ship had been cleared of any possible nanite infestation when something occurred to Harry. He'd been pulling out data fragments to analyze the instructions being sent when he suddenly pushed that aside and reached for the sensor readings of the asteroid itself. Overlaying the readings of the signal with a schematic of the asteroid's interior, he frowned. Another deck was reported clear, but Harry's thoughts were racing far away from the on-going scan. He keyed up some information on the computer screen, adding an extra variable for clarification. The answer he got wasn't what he wanted to see, but he opened up a communications channel and submitted an information request to Starfleet. As soon as he closed that channel, he commed Captain Bateson and requested a meeting in his ready room when the spectral scan was finished. 

... 

Chakotay hit the recycle button after putting his dinner dishes back in the replicator. He picked up his uniform jacket where he'd draped it over a chair and started toward the closet to hang it up. He turned around, startled to hear the door slide open. "Fireball, I thought you were working in your office. I just finished a quick dinner, but I could fix you something." 

Lar's voice came over the comm system. "Arrival confirmed, Dr. Crusher." 

"Thank you, Geoffrey," Beverly acknowledged before answering her husband. "No, thank you. Alyssa practically force-fed me a sandwich earlier. I just needed a break from that computer screen and I wanted to ask you about something." 

"Borg nanoprobes." 

Huffing, she started to fling the PADD in her hand before catching herself and settling for a disgusted sigh. "Jean-Luc." 

"Will," he corrected her. "This does affect Deanna, too. He stopped by my office earlier to talk and managed to almost casually bring up Voyager's EMH and my experience with his methods. No, he hasn't told Deanna anything. I think he's afraid to mention it until after you've finished your review." 

Beverly closed her eyes, her jaw tightening visibly. 

"Whoa," he rushed to head off her outburst. "He told me what happened and your concerns were part of the reason that he came to talk to me. I'm the only person on this ship who understands exactly what he's feeling right now and the fact that I've served with the EMH and seen his work firsthand was a bonus. It's not like he can talk to the ship's counselor about this." 

Beverly ran her fingers through her hair. "What did you tell him?" 

Chakotay raised an eyebrow. "I did mention that he told me what happened in the meeting, right? You can't honestly believe I'd risk life and limb answering that. Why don't we stick to whatever you needed to talk to me about." 

"I wanted to ask you what you remember about this incident from the EMH's medical logs," she said, waving the PADD. "I've been through every bit of information and I can't find any reason not to try that treatment; it's just the idea of letting an emergency medical hologram inject Borg technology into me and my patients . . . " 

He tossed his jacket to the sofa and crossed over to her in four long strides, taking the PADD and laying it aside. His hands gently cradled her face and when he spoke, his voice was soft and low. "I know you're scared, sweetheart, but I've trusted the EMH with my life a number of times over and the fact that I'm standing here with you is proof that he's never let me down. More importantly, I would trust him with your life. The Emergency Command Hologram is another matter entirely even though he did save the ship twice--sort of; but as a doctor, he's good." 

"You let that hologram command a ship?" 

Chuckling, he let his thumbs caress her soft, lush lips. "Not by choice and as little as possible, but yes." 

Beverly moved closer, nestling her head into his shoulder and brushing a kiss along his strong jaw. "With the mood I've been in lately, I should be grateful that you haven't programmed yourself an Emergency Spousal Hologram." 

"You are irreplaceable, Fireball," Chakotay muttered, lowering his mouth to hers, "truly one of a kind." 

... 

"Captain?" Harry stood at the doorway to Bateson's ready room with his report in his hand. 

Bateson waved him in. "Come on in, Harry. I asked Wick to sit in if you don't mind." 

"No, sir," he nodded to the First Officer and sat in the chair beside him facing his captain. "The spectral scan didn't turn up any nanite infections onboard so we've resumed normal operations." 

Bateson picked up the PADD that Harry slid across his desk. "I was waiting for this to include in my report to Captain Janeway. You sounded like there was something else when you called earlier." 

He shrugged, taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure and I hope I'm on the wrong track. I probably shouldn't even be pursuing this." 

"Harry," Wick stopped him. "What is it?" 

"I was thinking about the vinculum-type interlink signal that we picked up," he prefaced what he was about to say. "I've seen a lot of Borg technology and I'm not sure I could build something capable of controlling one person much less forty-three simultaneously. I could only think of a handful of people who could and at least half of them are on the Voluspa. Also, a computer database capable of that would have to be massive, but nothing even close to that size was detected in the asteroid. It would practically have to be the size of one of the smaller asteroids in that field anyway." 

Bateson sat forward, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Where are you going with this, son?" 

Harry gestured toward the PADD. "The only way I could think of to explain how something so small on our scans could be handling that much information is by using a positronic matrix. With that they wouldn't need much more than something the size of a standard computer station I'd estimate. I ran a search for individuals working with positronic matrices and only two people have ever successfully created and initialized a positronic matrix--Dr. Noonien Soong, who's been dead for quite awhile and Commander Data of the Enterprise." 

"That's a hell of an accusation, Harry," Wick cautioned him. 

"I'm not accusing anybody," he insisted. "It's just . . . " 

Bateson sighed heavily and sat back in his chair. "You're right, Mr. Kim. This is pertinent to the investigation and needs to be checked out no matter how far-fetched it may be. I'll find out where the Enterprise is--" 

"They're with the Voluspa," Harry said. "I took the liberty of checking on that while I was waiting for the scan to finish." 

"What are they doing there?" Bateson wondered. "Well, that'll simplify things somewhat. I'll notify Kathryn that we need to meet ASAP and to bring the Enterprise along. Let's see if we can clear this up discretely." 

... 

Robin Lefler huffed in frustration and maneuvered herself to a more comfortable position in the confines of the jeffries tube. She tapped her communicator. "Lefler to LaForge, sorry Commander but there's something hincky in here. I'll need a few minutes before I can finish the last of the modifications to the internal sensors." 

"Define hincky," LaForge responded. "Is there something wrong?" 

"No," she answered. "It's not wrong, I'm just not sure what it is or why it's here. There's a device of some sort connected to the secondary relays for the deflector. I just did maintenance on this junction box a little over a month ago and it definitely wasn't here then. I'm going to do a quick diagnostic before I remove it, see if I can figure out what its purpose is." 

"Okay, just let me know when you've finished in there so we can let security know that the internal sensors will be down while we bring the modifications online." 

Lefler acknowledged him before reaching for a tricorder. The device wasn't showing any activity and the tricorder readings were confusing, so she decided to run a low level of energy through the device to try to get a reading of its interior. Unfortunately she didn't have the necessary equipment with her. It would take a good fifteen minutes to retrieve the proper tools and get back. She started to just remove it, but stopped. "Lefler's Law 16: Carelessness makes for a very short life," she reminded herself, going to get what she needed. 

... 

"Be impressed," Vash stated dramatically, standing in the doorway holding a tray of various types of chocolate. Jean-Luc had filled her in on the situation and suggested that Beverly could use a chocolate fest. He'd actually helped her coordinate getting Bev and Deanna in the same place at the same time since it would otherwise have been frivolous to inconvenience Security with the rolling dampening fields for some girl talk and chocolate. "Be very impressed. This particular chocolate fest required a great deal more strategy than usual." 

Deanna entered Beverly's office just behind Vash also carrying a tray of supplies for the chocolate fest. Before Crusher had a chance to object, she moved all of the PADDs off the desk and snatched the one Beverly was holding. "Counselor's orders." 

Surrendering to the temptation, Beverly smothered a bowl of chocolate-covered cherries with chocolate syrup and spooned one into her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned softly. "That is good. I really should be working, though. I need to check in on Ensign Khande; I've been so caught up in reading and reviewing medical logs that I haven't done much more than glance at any of our neurocortical readings." 

"She's fine," Vash assured her. "Probably better than fine. I gave her the standard chocolate fest menu and a couple of her friends and she were planning to hold one of their own." 

Beverly waved her spoon at Vash. "You're corrupting a perfectly good Starfleet ensign." 

"Nonsense," the accused party protested. "This event has the seal of approval from one of Starfleet's top doctors and top psychologists. I'm simply passing the torch of tradition to the next generation." 

"Where did we get the torch from?" Deanna wanted to know between bites. 

Vash looked pointedly at first Deanna and then Beverly. "If I recall correctly, the two of you started this and subverted me." 

"Every tradition has to start somewhere," Beverly offered with an expression of wide-eyed innocence. "Or so my anthropologist husband tells me." 

Deanna was still giggling at Vash's last statement. "We subverted you? Because you were such an angelic, innocent babe in the woods when Captain Picard rescued you from a dig site that everybody else avoided because of the dangers." 

"Sites that others avoid are the best ones because everything is still there," Vash explained patiently. "And I did get further than anybody else ever has, not to mention the fact that Jean-Luc beamed me up without my clothes. Oh, of course he claimed it was absolutely necessary and gave some technobabbly reason, but still . . . " 

Beverly laughed, enjoying the casual banter. "It's a guy thing. Chakotay beamed me to him minus clothing the night before our wedding so he wouldn't accidentally see me in my wedding dress." 

Deanna pouted. "Will's never stripped me with a transporter." 

"What's sauce for the goose, Capitaine La Folle," Vash winked. 

All three ladies burst out laughing. "It's a good thing the guys don't know what we talk about," Deanna gasped. 

"Ooh, maybe we could get Data to design holographic uniforms," Vash suggested. "Then we could just snap our fingers to strip them." 

"Please," Beverly groaned, "no hologram talk." 

Vash muffled a chuckle. "Do we still have an Emergency Medical Hologram here?" 

"Yes," came the grumpy reply. 

Vash started to say something and paused, re-thinking her wording. "I realize I'm probably taking my life into my hands here, but are you opposed to the proposed treatment because an EMH proposed it or because it's a bad idea?" 

"Logic has no place anywhere near chocolate," Beverly tartly informed her. 

Deanna was confused. "What treatment? Is this about the nanites?" 

"Oh that's right," Beverly said. "I insisted on doing a thorough review before being the one to explain it to you and Ensign Khande, apparently Jean-Luc took that to mean he could discuss it with anyone except the two of you," she arched an eyebrow in Vash's direction not really annoyed. "Voyager's EMH has proposed programming Borg nanoprobes and injecting them into us to eradicate the nanites." 

"Borg?" Deanna echoed. 

Beverly nodded. "It sounds crazy but it's a medically viable option. He's used this method before with success and even Chakotay supports the idea. He trusts the EMH. I've looked through every shred of information on this and I can't find any contraindications. They used some of the nanites from us to run a practical test over on the Voluspa. They just transmitted the results a little while ago and, based on that test and computer simulations, it'll take about six hours for the nanites to be completely eliminated by the nanoprobes. Within ten hours of initiating the treatment, our bodies should be totally free of any nano-technology." 

"What other choice do we have?" Deanna asked. 

"Maybe Morgan has something," Vash suggested. "Jean-Luc mentioned that we've set a course to meet up with the Bozeman along with the Voluspa at Morgan's request. Granted, he probably does join up with Kathryn at every opportunity, but Jean-Luc said that he specifically requested the Enterprise accompany the Voluspa." 

"Even if they have something on whoever is spreading these bugs," Beverly sighed. "This nanoprobe thing is the most promising option for removing them so far." 

Deanna searched Crusher's emotions for hints about her opinion before asking in a soft, hesitant voice. "What is your recommendation?" 

"It's worth a try." 

Vash snorted. "Even without powers of empathy I can tell that's not a ringing endorsement." 

Beverly took a bite of fudge before answering. "There is not one thing about this option that I like. It was proposed and would be administered by an Emergency Medical Hologram using Borg nanoprobes." 

"From your husband's ex-girlfriend," Vash finished for her. 

"That's just the icing on the cake," Beverly waved casually. "There is absolutely no chemistry between them. It has more to do with trusting my life and the lives of my patients to a computer program. I trust Chakotay and Chakotay said that he would trust the EMH with my life, so our esteemed ship's counselor would probably diagnose this as a knee-jerk reaction to the source." 

"I'd probably use more technical terms," Deanna said with a wry grin. 

Beverly wiped her mouth with a napkin and tossed it down, heaving a deep sigh. "We should go explain this to Ensign Khande and see if she's willing to try it. I'll contact the EMH and let him know that it's a go after we've met with Anya." 

... 

Geordi looked up from the computer station that he was working at when he heard phaser fire. He frowned in momentary disbelief when he saw Ensign Khande firing a phaser at every crewman on duty in Engineering. Reaching for his commbadge to call Security, he never even managed to activate the communicator before a phaser blast threw him back into the wall behind him. He fell to the floor, unconscious. 

Barclay was sitting on the floor accessing the console's main conduit when Commander La Forge suddenly went flying backward. He realized that there was phaser fire echoing through the room and peeked around the computer station just as Khande fired on a crewman coming down the access ladder. The man fell hard, hitting the floor with a loud, sickening thud and remaining motionless. Judging by the whine of the phaser blasts, it was on the default, medium setting; shots would cause serious damage but probably wouldn't be instantly fatal. Two more engineering crew fell and when she took aim at a crewmember on the upper deck, Reg reacted. He launched himself at her and let his momentum carry both of them to the floor, knocking the phaser from her hand. The impact jarred him but he managed to maintain a grip on her and shifted to more securely restrain her in spite of her struggles. Throughout the entire incident, she hadn't uttered a sound which Reg found just creepy. Other personnel began checking on the injured and doing damage assessments, but he didn't loosen his hold on her until Security arrived to take her into custody. 

At exactly the same moment that Ensign Khande entered Engineering, Beverly and Deanna were stepping onto the Bridge. Lar knew something was wrong when Dr. Crusher and Counselor Riker exited the turbolift; their minds were empty, he couldn't even feel anything coming from either of them. His last contact with them had been just minutes before when he'd confirmed their arrival at Khande's quarters and everything had been fine. He reached for a phaser, starting to call out a warning. "Captain Picard--" 

Picard and Riker were quietly discussing the nanite situation, trying to come up with theories about how the sect intended to use them to further their insidious goals. When Lar started to say something, they turned around just in time to see Deanna shoot him with a phaser at point blank range. They both stood, in spite of the surreal aspect of the scene before them their Starfleet training kicked in and they reacted automatically by moving farther apart. 

"Deanna, what are you doing?" Riker asked already realizing that her mind was clouded. He had to dive out of the way when she fired at him with her phaser. Her attention turned toward the other members of the Bridge crew so he used the opportunity to try to maneuver himself in position to grab her. Deanna was completely blank, it was disconcerting for him to feel that emptiness where she had been for so long. 

Picard felt a blast from Beverly's phaser hit his shoulder and he spun with the force of the blow, falling to the ground and crawling back over to his command chair to retrieve the phaser there. Phaser fire whined around the confines of the Bridge; he heard the helmsman fall behind him as Beverly shot him and he reluctantly rolled to his side, firing at her. The shot was good and she fell, stunned, to the deck. He started to re-direct his aim to stun Deanna, but Will was already disarming her. He laid there struggling to remain conscious, the pain in his shoulder excruciating and within minutes everything went black. 

Without releasing his hold on Deanna who was fighting hard to break free, Riker hit his commbadge. "Medical team to the Bridge." 

Dr. Selar responded. "I am receiving reports of mass casualties in Engineering, Commander. If the injuries there are severe, please transport them directly to Sickbay; all medical teams are currently occupied." 

"What happened?" Riker asked. 

"Ensign Khande apparently entered Engineering and began firing a phaser at the crew on duty there." 

Riker looked down at his Imzadi and over at Beverly, slumped to the floor. "Counselor Troi and Dr. Crusher just did the same here on the Bridge. Could the nanites be responsible?" 

"Unknown but probable," Selar replied. "The medical staff is short one doctor and currently being overwhelmed with casualties so that will need to remain a theory for the time being." 

Riker gestured to a security officer checking on Commander Lar. "Tell Commander Data to report to the Bridge. Beam Captain Picard and Commander Lar directly to Sickbay along with anyone who can't get there on their own steam. Everyone else, see that they're relieved and that they get down to Sickbay for treatment." He turned his attention back to Selar. "Could you use some help? I can contact the Voluspa to borrow some of their doctors." 

"That would be appreciated, Commander." 

Closing the channel, Riker nodded at the questioning glance from the Security officer who had taken over the tactical station. While the connection was being made, he turned Deanna over to two security guards and watched as they practically carried her into the turbolift along with a crewman carrying Beverly. In just a moment, Captain Janeway appeared on the viewscreen from the bridge of the Voluspa. He didn't bother with any preamble. "Captain Janeway, there's been a situation here and we could use a couple of your doctors. The nanites were activated somehow and the three women started shooting up Main Engineering and the Bridge. Our medical staff is one doctor short to begin with and being overrun with injured, some of them serious." 

"They'll beam right over, Commander Riker," Janeway assured him. "Is there anything else we can do?" 

"Not at the moment," he replied. "Thank you." 

Signaling for the communication to be terminated, he turned to greet Data as the android stepped off the turbolift and gestured around the Bridge. "Deanna and Beverly just came in firing phasers and Khande apparently did the same in Engineering. I think the nanites were to blame which means there's a signal if your theory is correct. Find it and stop it." 

"Sir," the Security officer spoke up. "No transmissions or anomalous signals on sensors." 

Data activated a work station and sat down. "This may take some time, Commander. I will review sensor logs from the preceding hour to determine if a transmission was detected." 

He nodded and looked to the Security officer. "Start getting injury and damage reports together, I'll be in Sickbay. Call Commander Chakotay and have him meet me there." 

... 

Lefler walked into Engineering only to be stopped short by a security team. Beyond them was nobody, or at least a skeleton crew on duty when the area should have been teeming with Engineering people. She handed her tool kit and the device she had removed from the junction box over and stood quietly while they searched her. She started to ask them what was going on only to hear a yell from the computer station near the warp core. 

"Somebody get on those injector ports," Barclay shouted. "Magnetic containment is down five percent and falling, let's get the warp corp stabilized." 

Lefler rushed over to the control panel and quickly started working on correcting the imminent problem; security checkpoints and the strange device could wait, the warp core wouldn't. While they worked, Barclay filled her in on the events of the past half hour. 

... 

By the time Riker arrived in Sickbay and looked around for Deanna, two of the doctors from the Voluspa were already pitching in and the EMH was evaluating Khande. Chakotay was standing beside the biobed where Beverly was laying and Deanna was on the bed beside her with Security posted although she was now unconscious. He questioned the officer on duty. "What happened?" 

"I don't know, sir. She slumped over out cold in the turbolift; we had to carry her here." 

The EMH strode past to attend to Deanna. "All three women are in comas of some sort; autonomic functions are active, but higher brain functions aren't. The signal that activated the nanites may have been terminated too abruptly causing neural shock, but I'll have to know more about the signal and its source to be certain. I'm treating them with neural stimulators which appear to be effective and there's no indication of aneurysm in any of the women." 

Riker looked down at Deanna before turning his gaze to the EMH. "We have got to get those nanites out of them. Can you begin the nanoprobe treatment now?" 

"If I have authorization." 

Riker stiffened his posture, this was one command decision that weighed heavily; however, with Captain Picard incapacitated and the three women unconscious, the decision was his. "You do." 

"That's probably for the best," Chakotay concurred. 

The EMH waved a nurse over and gave her instructions. He turned back to the two men and nodded. "As soon as their brain activity has stabilized, I'll have them transported over and we'll begin." 

"Where's Selar?" Riker wanted to know, looking around the Sickbay. 

Chakotay moved away from Beverly's bedside and lowered his voice even though he knew the women were unconscious. "She took Lar into emergency surgery almost the minute he got here, he's in pretty bad shape. Security filled me in about what happened on the Bridge, Captain Picard is being tended to, but Alyssa said his injury wasn't critical." 

Riker's commbadge chirped. "Riker here, go ahead." 

"Commander," Data's voice came over the communications device. "It appears that the signal being transmitted to the nanites originated from inside the ship. It lasted approximately 9 minutes and then terminated." 

Riker looked down at Deanna on the biobed. "Understood, Commander. Can you localize where the signal was coming from?" 

"It will take some time, but I believe that I can at least narrow the probable location to a specific section of the ship," Data replied. 

"I'm on my way, Riker out." He closed the channel and gestured from the women to Chakotay. "With Captain Picard and Commander Lar out of commission, I need to be here. Stay with them, go with them over to the Voluspa and let me know if anything changes. I'll be over as soon as I can." 

... 

Captain Tuvok accepted the PADD that his operations officer handed him, briefly reviewing its contents. "Twelve more cases on the surface?" 

"Yes, sir." 

Tuvok scanned the coordinates of the identified individuals on Vulcan. The spectral scan ordered by Captain Janeway had revealed three of his crew members to be infected with nanites. They had been relieved of duty and confined to quarters as a precaution pending further instructions, but a scan of the planet found a dozen civilian infections that couldn't be handled that easily. 

"Incoming message from Commander T'Jar, sir." 

His First Officer was leading two away teams on a raid of an Eh-Cu'oral cell that they had discovered as a result of their investigation into Dr. Levar. "Commander T'Jar, please report." 

"The facility is secure," she reported succinctly. "There were minor injuries sustained by two of our personnel, but there were no fatalities. The prisoners are secure, we are removing their database now for analysis and one captive was rescued." 

"Who?" Tuvok asked. 

"Unknown, he is in quite a distraught state. We have been unable to calm him. I recommend that he be transported directly to Sickbay and sedated. As soon as Commander Jorik transports back to the ship, we will begin transferring the prisoners to the brig. They are refusing to disclose their identities; the only one we can positively identify at this juncture is Dr. Levar." 

Tuvok nodded to the crewman at ops. "Inform Sickbay and initiate transport. Tell Dr. Manok that I am on my way and to delay administering a sedative to the man until I have arrived." 

"Yes, sir." 

When he entered Sickbay several minutes later, he found the medical staff in a loose semi-circle around a screaming human male. The man was crouched down with his hands on his head, refusing to allow anyone near him. Tuvok approached slowly, moving up to stand beside his Chief Medical Officer. "Sir, I am Captain Tuvok and you are aboard my ship, the U.S.S. Sarek. I assure you that no harm will come to you. May I ask your name?" 

Dr. Manok held up a medical tricorder to show his captain the readings. "What I've been able to determine at this point suggests that he has been involved in repeated mindmelds over the span of several months at least. The bruising pattern on his face and fractures on the skull beneath would indicate that the melds were initiated without his cooperation or consent. I have not been able to run a thorough scan for brain damage, but aside from his agitated mental condition and general physical degradation due to long-term stress, he does not appear to have any significant physical injuries." 

"Can you get close enough to safely sedate him?" Tuvok asked. 

Dr. Manok nodded and retrieved a hypospray from the pocket of his lab coat. He gestured for two of the medical staff to assist him and the three quickly managed to sedate the still-screaming man. Tuvok inclined his head in a tacit gesture of approval and left to meet Commander T'Jar to question her prisoners. He requested that Dr. Levar be taken to the security office in lieu of his own ready room since the security office was on the same level as the brig so as to minimize prisoner movement on his ship. Once the prisoner was seated, he dismissed the security officers who had escorted the prisoner and sat down behind the desk looking across at a very composed Vulcan. He had met the man before, Levar had been in attendance at a reception at the Vulcan embassy on Earth following Voyager's return. Seven of Nine had been his escort on that occasion and several others. 

"I have nothing to say," Levar said. 

"Who is the human male that you were keeping prisoner?" Tuvok asked. 

"A necessity." 

Tuvok rested his hands on the desk, palms down and his fingers splayed apart. "I require answers to my questions." 

"I will not provide those answers." 

Tuvok calmly arched an eyebrow. "This vessel is named for an esteemed diplomat of Vulcan whose son, Ambassador Spock, once ripped the answers to his questions directly from the screaming mind of a traitorous Vulcan. I require answers to my questions, how I obtain them is your choice." 

... 

Beverly groaned as she regained consciousness to the incessant throbbing of her head. She was confused when she tried to raise a hand to her head and couldn't. Looking down, she saw that her arms and legs were secured with restraints holding her on a biobed in an unfamiliar Sickbay. 

"Shh," Chakotay noticed her waking up and stroked her hair to keep her from struggling against the restraints. "It's all right, I'm here." 

"What's going on?" she asked, her voice a little shaky. 

"Women on a rampage, apparently," the EMH commented from the foot of her bed. 

Chakotay glared at him. "Doctor!" Looking back down at his wife, his tone softened. "From what we've been able to piece together, the nanites were activated in all three of you. Lefler found a device that had been installed in a junction box and when she ran a diagnostic on it, she inadvertently activated it and it, in turn, activated a program that told the three of you to take over the ship. She feels badly about it, she didn't know what it was. When it was disconnected from ship's systems, Deanna and Anya lost consciousness; you were already out, Captain Picard had been forced to stun you with a phaser to stop you." 

"So much for those dampening fields," Beverly commented. 

In the biobed beside Beverly, Deanna had regained consciousness and was listening to the explanation. "Was anybody hurt?" 

Chakotay looked from one woman to the next, hesitant to answer. Finally, "A lot of injuries but no fatalities. Will would be here--he wanted to be here, but Captain Picard and Commander Lar were both among the injured so he had to stay on the Enterprise to handle things. He'll beam over as soon as he can." 

Beverly's head was clearing, she couldn't remember anything after arriving at Ensign Khande's quarters to talk to her about the nanoprobe treatment, but she realized that they were onboard the Voluspa. "How bad?" 

"Well, you blew a pretty big hole in Captain Picard's shoulder but Dr. Selar said that he'll be fine," Chakotay said, caressing her cheek to ease the blow of his words. "In fact I think he's already checked himself out of Sickbay. I don't think he'll hold a grudge given the nanite influence you were under at the time. Geoff will be out of commission for a little while longer, he took a phaser blast from Deanna at point blank range and was in surgery for a while, but he's in stable condition now. Like I said, there were no fatalities." 

The EMH was standing beside Khande's bed reviewing the readouts. "Most of the injured will be able to return to duty by tomorrow as will the three of you." 

"Meaning what?" Beverly asked. 

Chakotay tried to soothe her. "In light of what happened, the EMH was authorized to begin his nanoprobe treatment immediately." 

"Just wait a minute," Beverly began. 

"Fireball, please don't make this hard," he asked softly. 

Struggling against the restraints, she tried to make him understand. "I don't think I got a chance to explain it to Anya, she doesn't know what he's going to do. I don't remember anything after arriving at her quarters to explain it. Just let me up and give me a few minutes to explain it to her; Deanna and I had already decided to try it, I won't fight." 

"Too late," the EMH remarked. "The three of you have been unconscious for several hours. The nanoprobes were injected a half an hour ago. The restraints will be removed after the nanites have been eliminated, Doctor's orders," he finished with a warning look at Chakotay. He motioned for a nurse to tend to Ensign Khande before walking down to Beverly's bed and activating a scan. 

"What's that?" Beverly asked, forcing herself to lie still in spite of her anxiousness at being helpless and confined. 

The EMH turned the viewscreen so she could see. "Our Chief Engineer modified several of my biobeds to include spectral scanners. I'm using them to monitor the progress of the nanoprobes; there's been a ten percent decrease in nanites in your body in the past thirty minutes." 

"I'd like the schematics for that when this is over," Beverly commented, trying to sound calmer than she felt. "That might come in handy in my Sickbay." 

The EMH shrugged. "Ask your Chief Engineer, from what I understand it was his idea. It's a modified version of a visor device that he apparently used to wear. Between him, our Chief Engineer and B'Elanna, they managed to rig a visor-type device to scan the bed and feed the information into a viewscreen readout. It's quite ingenious really." 

... 

Picard approached Janeway's ready room with a mix of curiosity and apprehension. Kathryn's message had been brief to the point of cryptic, asking for Commander Data to report to her ready room and invited him to accompany the Commander if he was up to it. Data had just begun the analysis with Ms. Torres on the device that Lefler had inadvertently activated; with all of the chaos following the events in Engineering and the Bridge, Lefler had put it aside to tend to matters in Engineering and hadn't connected the events with her diagnostic on the device until a few hours had passed. Picard had thought about stopping by Sickbay to check on his crew members while he was onboard the Voluspa, at the very least he'd like to reassure Beverly since he knew that she'd worry about having shot him until she saw for herself that he was fine. Even though Janeway's message hadn't actually ordered Data to report immediately, the implication of the terse message was clear so he opted for stopping by Sickbay later. Entering the room, he saw Bateson and Lieutenant Commander Kim, along with Janeway's First Officer and Chief of Security. Idly he noted that Morgan and Kim were wearing phasers. 

"Captain Picard, Commander Data," Janeway greeted them, standing up when they walked in and moving around her desk to perch against it. "Jean-Luc, I'm glad to see you up and about. I thought you would want to be here for this, I just wasn't sure you'd be up to it after what happened. Mr. Data, I need to ask you some questions. I believe you know Captain Bateson and Lieutenant Commander Kim. This is my First Officer, Commander Raidar and my Chief of Security, Lieutenant Commander Webb. I would like to keep this informal but I must stress that this is a very important matter. If you would prefer, I can ask Captain Picard to leave; the choice is yours." 

Data cocked his head, a puzzled expression on his face. "I have no objection to the presence of my captain, Captain Janeway. I will assist you in any way that I can." 

Janeway reached behind her and picked up a PADD. "Glad to hear it, Commander, because I need to ask for your permission to access and review all of your duty records, personal logs and communications for the past year." 

Picard stepped forward to forestall any response from Data. "Kathryn, what's this about?" 

"The Bozeman discovered an unusual signal emanating from a habitat in the middle of a large asteroid. Forty-three individuals infected with nanites are apparently being controlled by this signal. Their analysis suggests that the source of the signal is utilizing a positronic matrix. Commander Data is the only living individual known to have successfully designed and initialized a positronic matrix." 

Data took the PADD and entered his authorization. "If your analysis is correct, then I am a logical suspect. It would be prudent to review all of my actions; however, I have not pursued that area of research since the death of my daughter, Lal." 

"Your daughter?" Janeway asked. 

"The positronic matrix that I created was in the body of a being such as myself," Data explained. "She chose to take the form of a young female and identified with me in a father-daughter dynamic since I was the one who gave her life." 

Janeway accepted the PADD back and passed it to her Security Chief. "I'm sorry, Commander, I didn't know." 

"Commander Data," Bateson spoke up. "Have you shared your notes on your daughter with anyone? Could someone have accessed those files or maybe asked for your insight into positronic matrices, perhaps?" 

"Yes, sir," Data replied. "I have been corresponding with Commander Bruce Maddox on that subject since Stardate--" 

"Data," Picard interrupted him. "How close was Maddox to a functioning positronic matrix the last time you heard from him?" 

"His most recent message was quite exuberant," Data said. "He had successfully tested a small positronic matrix. It was a brief test and of limited scope, but the results were promising." 

Janeway gestured to Commander Raidar. 

"Starfleet Command, Commander Maddox," he acknowledged her implicit order, "two 'd's?" 

As he left the room, Janeway looked back to Data. "How long ago was this?" 

"The Commander's last communique was six months, two weeks and three days ago," Data responded. "May I see the information collected on the signal?" 

Bateson handed him a PADD. "I'm sorry about all of this, son." 

"Unnecessary but appreciated," Data said. "Mr. Kim, this is your analysis?" 

"Yeah," Harry admitted. "Listen--" 

Data gave a small smile and nodded toward the PADD in his hand. "Your analysis and hypothesis were accurate. The conclusion that you reached was logical however inaccurate. This does appear to bear similarities to a Borg interlink signal and the capacity requirements would be substantial. These scans lack a resource of sufficient power which would suggest a functioning positronic matrix." 

Their discussion was interrupted by an incoming, urgent message. Turning the viewscreen around, Janeway opened the channel. "Janeway here." 

B'Elanna appeared on the viewscreen. "Captain, I've finished the analysis of the device found on the Enterprise. It's programmed to emit an interlink signal, similar to the Borg vinculum devices but it's got a power core like nothing I've ever seen. One of the Enterprise engineers identified it as a positronic matrix. There was a program embedded in it instructing--presumably-- the nanites to neutralize the rest of the crew and take the ship to specified coordinates. DNA residue on the device and the connections inside the junction box belonged to two individuals: Lieutenant Lefler, who found the device and disconnected it, and an Ensign Anya Khande. I'll have a complete report to you in a couple of hours, I just thought you'd want an update as soon as possible." 

"It would have taken at least a dozen crewmembers infected with nanites to even have a chance of taking over the Enterprise," Picard remarked. 

Bateson shook his head. "They probably didn't intend to activate the nanites until they had enough infected individuals to pull it off on a much broader scale than just one ship." 

"Thank you, B'Elanna," Janeway said before cutting the signal. She sighed. "It would seem that we got lucky in a way, stumbling into this mess before it got too far--at least I hope it's not too far out of hand yet." 

Just then Raidar returned. "Commander Bruce Maddox took a sabbatical almost six months ago. He hasn't been heard from since." 

"Captain Janeway," Data spoke up. "I would like to examine that device if I may. I am familiar with Commander Maddox's work and I may be able to say with some degree of certainty if he is involved. Additionally, there may be a way to block the signal since dampening fields appeared to have little effect. We should also investigate ways to disable or neutralize these interlink transmitters." 

Janeway nodded in agreement. 

"Even though none of the Bozeman crew were infected," Harry began. "It might be a good idea to sweep the ship for similar devices." 

Bateson nodded. "Good thinking, son." 

"Very good thinking," Janeway commented with a look toward Raidar and Webb. "In light of Commander Maddox's suspicious disappearance and the evidence that Ensign Khande installed the device, I don't think an investigation into Commander Data's activities is warranted. I do think, however, that a sweep of this ship would be a good idea even though none of our crew were infected." 

Once the three captains were alone, Bateson put a hand on Picard's shoulder. "Sorry, Jean-Luc, we had to ask." 

"I'm glad you kept it informal," Picard said. "He's a good officer. Given that Ensign Khande's nanites showed indications of having been previously activated, it's likely that she was directed to install the device some time after she arrived on the Enterprise. According to Commander Chakotay, none of the women have any memory of their actions while the nanites were active. My people are sweeping the ship for any additional devices as a precaution." 

The comm system buzzed. "Captain Janeway, the Sarek has arrived and Captain Tuvok is requesting permission to come aboard. He says that he has information on the recent activities of the Eh-Cu'oral and prisoners to transfer." 

"The plot thickens," Bateson noted drily. 

Janeway shot him an exasperated glare which was tempered by the hint of a grin. "Have the transporter room beam Tuvok directly to my ready room." 

"Aye, Captain." 

A moment later, Tuvok materialized. Noting the presence of the other two captains he said, "I trust that I am not interrupting anything." 

"No," Janeway assured him. "In fact you probably have a piece or two of the same puzzle that we've been working on." 

Tuvok handed her a PADD. "Our investigation of Dr. Levar turned up a cell of Eh-Cu'oral working in Vulcan space. We located their hideout and successfully secured it, taking several prisoners and rescuing a man being held and tortured. According to the information provided by Dr. Levar during questioning, the human whom they were holding was a Commander Bruce Maddox. Levar admitted to using mindmelds to force Maddox to develop a positronic matrix to be used in controlling nanites designed by a cyberneticist who is a member of their group. The cyberneticist was not among those captured, however we did retrieve their database for translation." 

"So much for his mysterious disappearance. Maybe this Commander Maddox can help with a way to neutralize these things," Janeway theorized. 

"Unlikely," Tuvok replied. "He had to be sedated because of his mental condition. Five months of psychological torture through forced mindmelds has left him in a less than coherent state. I suspect his condition may improve marginally if he were to be moved to a non-Vulcan environment, but I am not certain that he would have the mental stability to be of any assistance for some time." 

Janeway scanned the report on the PADD that Tuvok had handed her. "Three of your crew were infected with nanites?" 

Tuvok nodded. "With an additional twelve cases identified among the population on Vulcan." 

"The Doctor has a treatment for eliminating the nanites," Janeway said. "You can have your infected crew members report to Sickbay here to get that taken care of. You should also know that a device was found on the Enterprise intended to activate the nanites; crews here and on the Bozeman are sweeping those ships now." 

Reaching for his communicator, Tuvok paused and waited for approval from Janeway. "Tuvok to the Sarek." 

The response was immediate. "Yes, sir." 

"Please transfer Commander Maddox to the Voluspa Sickbay. Also, inform Dr. Manok that the doctor here has an effective treatment for the nanites; I wish him to accompany our three infected crewmen over here for treatment so that he can repeat this procedure for the cases on Vulcan." 

"Acknowledged, Captain." 

"One more thing," Tuvok said. "There was a device found on the Enterprise for activating the nanites. Please contact them for details on the device and its location and then initiate a full search of the Sarek. We will delay prisoner transfer until searches have been completed of all ships." 

Janeway gathered up the assorted PADDs on her desk and looked around at the three men. "What say we move this to my dining hall. We can grab a bite to eat and lay all of our pieces out on the table. Hopefully we can get a clearer picture of what we're dealing with." 

... 

Chakotay sat silently between Beverly and Deanna's beds, his hand resting on Beverly's still-restrained hand. Will had come and gone, staying as long as he could before getting back to the Enterprise. With Picard in a meeting with Janeway and Bateson, Lar still in Sickbay and Data working with the Voluspa crew on the interlink device, Riker had no choice in where he needed to be. The whine of a transporter beam startled all of them. 

"Well," the EMH began as he emerged from his office. "It would seem that you've gotten a reprieve. There are three more cases of nanite infection transferring over from the Sarek, so I'm going to need your beds. There's been a ninety percent decrease in your nanite levels and I want you to remain here until they're completely gone, but those three biobeds are the only ones equipped with spectral scanners so far." 

At a nod from the EMH who was unfastening Deanna, Chakotay began freeing Beverly from the restraints. A nurse released Ensign Khande and helped her sit up. The three women were a little shaky, but within several minutes they were walking around the room, slowly getting their bearings. 

"Commander Maddox," Deanna was the first to recognize the man who had just transported over. 

The EMH walked over to join her near Maddox. "If you know him, maybe you could talk to him. According to the records transferred from the Sarek, Commander Maddox here has been on the receiving end of some particularly sadistic Vulcan mindmelds over the past five months. Physically he's just weak, mentally is another matter entirely. I can wake him if you'd like." 

Deanna nodded. "If I'm going to be stuck here, I might as well make myself useful." 

"Agreed," Beverly concurred. "You've got three more patients coming and I need to learn the process for replicating and programming those nanoprobes in case we run into any more cases." 

"As do I," Dr. Manok said, entering Sickbay. He introduced himself and the three men with him. 

Chakotay watched the three Vulcans calmly lie down on the indicated biobeds and Beverly initiate the spectral scan on the first bed while showing Dr. Manok how to use the modification. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked. 

The EMH came over from where he'd just administered a stimulant to Maddox. "Not doing a statue impersonation in the middle of my Sickbay would be a good start." 

Shooting Beverly a bemused grin, he suggested, "Why don't I go see Tom? I haven't had a chance to say hi or see Miral since we rendezvoused and his wife is as preoccupied as mine right now." 

Beverly reached out to grab his arm, stopping him. She brushed her lips across his in a brief, affectionate kiss and whispered, "Thank you for being here with me, honey." 

"Anywhere, anytime, Fireball, that's a promise." 

... 

Data adjusted his visual processors to include the spectral frequency necessary for the detection of nanites before he activated the door to the small observation lounge onboard the Voluspa. Slowly moving into the room, he scanned the sole person there. "Seven, is there a problem?" 

Seven's head jerked around, startled at the nearness of his voice. "Why do you ask?" 

"I attempted to contact you, but you did not reply. I am not detecting any nanites in your body, so the logical deduction is that you are experiencing distress of some nature and did not hear my previous call. Do you wish to discuss the matter or would you prefer solitude?" 

She didn't really want to talk about it and yet the android's calm, matter-of-fact demeanor had her telling him everything. "The Sarek brought several Eh-Cu'oral prisoners and one of them is a former romantic interest of mine." 

"You wish to help him," Data surmised. 

Seven shook her head no. "I accessed the statement that he gave about his involvement with the sect. He joined them because of me. He said that he found Icheb and me to be more pleasant to interact with than most humans and he believed that it was because of our Borg nature. After he returned to Vulcan, they approached him about their plan and he felt that unifying the Federation into a single Collective would be a benefit to humans, a way for them to evolve to a more civilized form. He brutalized a human for more than five months because of me." 

"That is incorrect," Data countered. "Based on what you have just said, he chose to join the group and he chose his actions because of intolerance for individuality." 

"If we'd never met, never been romantically involved . . . " 

"He would still have considered humans to be inferior," he finished for her. 

She sighed, searching the information displayed on the PADD. "He specifically attributes his decision to join them to me." 

Trying to find the right words among the massive database available to him, he gently took the PADD out of her hands and laid it aside. "Perhaps the ending of your relationship was dissatisfactory to him." 

"He was not aware of the kidnapping," she argued. "He made no effort to get me back in any manner." 

"But he did endeavor to transform more women into versions of you." 

A tear slowly slid down her cheek. "He was the first person I'd ever known who never tried to change me. Everyone on Voyager always pressured me to be more human, to be more like Annika Hansen and less like Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One. Levar accepted me and liked me for who and what I am--not what he wanted me to be. Now I discover that he's trying to change other people to be more like me. I know that my friends and my Aunt Irene mean well, but I can never be Annika again; I'm too different. At the same time, no man, woman or child should be put through what I've experienced in my life." 

Reaching out to capture the tear, he wiped it away and put his arm around her. "'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.' That was a difficult aphorism for me to comprehend, but if I now understand it correctly it would seem to apply. Everyone's good intentions have led to the equivalent of emotional hell for you. It is ironic." 

Seven gave in to the urge to rest her head on his shoulder, ensconced in his comforting embrace. "What is ironic?" 

"Both your friends and mine have spent many years encouraging more human behavior in us, yet the results are completely dichotomous. I am an android, which leads people to the expectation of more machine-like behavior. I requested the assistance of my friends as I wished to more closely emulate human behavior; thus I appreciated the patience, understanding and effort that they displayed. You are human which leads people to the expectation of more human-like behavior. Your friends have made the same effort toward you with regard to your behavior as mine have toward me and yet it has caused you pain." 

Sighing, she said, "I know I'm a lot better off now than I was and much of what I've learned about human behavior is very beneficial. I'm not ungrateful for their efforts, sometimes I just want to feel like they're seeing me, not a pale imitation of Annika, just me--Seven of Nine. I had that with Levar, I thought I did, yet when he wished to return to Vulcan I had no desire to join him." 

"I have learned that humans often look for positive aspects of a situation in order to mitigate negative aspects," he noted. 

"Name one positive," she challenged him. 

Data tilted her face up to meet his gaze. "If Dr. Levar was not recruited until after his return to Vulcan, he could not have been the source of the nanoprobes used in those earlier experiments. You already pointed out that he was unaware of efforts to contact the Borg; therefore, he did not betray the affection that the two of you shared, it was genuine." 

"That is a valid point," she conceded. "And there is another individual I have met who accepts me for myself." 

"Oh?" 

Seven sat up, patting his shoulder. "You, thank you, Data." 

"I am gratified that I was able to help." 

Wiping her face, she tried to collect her composure. "You said that you tried to contact me, was there something you required?" 

"Your familiarity with interlink signals," he indicated. "I have knowledge of positronic matrices and I believe that our combined knowledge could yield counter-measures against the technology they have developed to control the nanites. Standard dampening fields had no effect in preventing the nanites from being activated." 

Seven stood and ran her hands down her body, smoothing her outfit. "We should go to the research lab, I have an office there we can work from." 

"Considering that there are nanite-infected individuals onboard this vessel," Data suggested. "Perhaps we should work in my lab onboard the Enterprise. I believe Ms. Torres is still on the Enterprise working on the device found there. We can use that to test any solutions that we may come up with." 

... 

Hours later, Data handed Seven a cool beverage. When she waved him off, he persisted. "You require sustenance." 

"Maybe if we try this," she said, keying in instructions before accepting the glass. Absently she took a drink while they watched the result. 

"That modulation does block the interlink signal," he noted; "however, at that frequency shields will not be effective against weapons fire." 

"Field generators," came a hoarse suggestion from the doorway. 

They both turned at the sound of a voice behind them. "Commander Maddox, it is good to see that you are feeling better," Data remarked. 

"Marginally less bad," he corrected, walking over to the computer station that they were working at. "Counselor Troi was most helpful, but it will undoubtedly be quite a while before I truly feel better." 

Data made the requisite introductions and quickly filled Maddox in on their work to that point. "Field generators can be configured to sustain force fields of this modulation, but that would be limited to cases of nanite infection that have already been identified." 

"When the nanites were activated in your three crew members," Seven began, "they focused on taking Engineering and the Bridge." 

Nodding, he noted, "The two areas that would be necessary for obtaining and maintaining control of a starship." 

Seven continued the thought. "Force fields around those two areas would prevent individuals working there from being affected and if those areas were locked down to prevent entrance, it would stop other nanite-infected individuals--" 

"Until the signal could be neutralized and the nanites removed," Data finished their idea. 

Seven gestured toward the device on a table across the room. "But we have not been able to neutralize it as of yet." 

Maddox studied the schematics of the device and gave them information on what the sect had forced him to design for them. "This is a smaller unit, instructions are pre-programmed although new instructions can be transmitted to it as well. There are larger transmitters that would be installed on starships and space stations as well as satellites that would be placed in orbit around planets. The satellites could simply be destroyed, but the others would entail significant loss of life if we were to attempt that solution. The positronic matrix is the same in all of them, just the capacities differ. The power source is heavily shielded, so the matrix is what we need to focus on. If we disrupt that, the whole system will crash." 

"We have attempted to disable the device with coherent neutrino and tetryon beams with no success," Data said. 

Seven concentrated on the schematics of the positronic matrix. "Data, you mentioned a short time ago that your daughter died; may I ask how?" 

"She experienced a cascade failure in her matrix," Data replied. "I was unable to stop it before the positronic matrix completely collapsed." 

Maddox snapped his fingers. "That's it, we overload the matrix, induce a cascade failure." 

Data began configuring a series of signals. "We will need to test all frequencies and modulations." 

"Wait a moment, Data," Seven interrupted him. From another console she accessed the Voluspa's computer and began manipulating the key pads at a rapid pace. "Try this, matching the frequency that it is transmitting at." 

Maddox moved closer to study the display. "What is that?" 

"Effective," Data said. "Cascade failure in progress, complete shutdown in thirty seconds." 

Seven nodded, pleased with the result. "That was a pathogen developed by Species 6339, a virus that attacks a Borg vinculum's programs as if they were living cells. It would not be possible to use this method against a Borg vinculum, but these interlink systems appear to lack the shielding and defensive capabilities to prevent such a transmission." 

Maddox reviewed the results. "Based on these readings, the larger models will take between two and five minutes to shut down." 

Seven pointed toward their earlier work. "But the forcefields will protect the Engineering and Bridge crews from the signal in the interim." 

Data grinned. "I was correct; with our combined knowledge we have isolated effective counter-measures against these devices." 

"We make a good team," she agreed. 

... 

Janeway shut off the communication link and looked over to the two men on the sofa in her ready room. "The Sarek is on its way back to Vulcan to treat the nanite infections there." 

Bateson went over and retrieved a cup of coffee for Kathryn, handing it to her when she came over to sit in the chair beside the sofa. "Do you want me to go back to that asteroid field and disable the vinculum device there?" 

"No," she said. "At least not yet. We'll leave the probe to monitor that situation for now. Between that and the database that Barbara is working on from the Vulcan cell, hopefully we can find out where they're assembling these vinculums and nanites--it's probably too much to hope for that they're stupid enough to be doing both at the same location. I want you to check out the coordinates specified in the devices found on the Enterprise and the Sarek. The Voluspa is going to set course for Earth to brief Starfleet Command on this situation and scan for nanites in the Sol system. I'm going to recommend that we try to keep this quiet as long as possible; I don't want the sect to find out that their nanite plan has been exposed any sooner than necessary." 

Picard set down his tea cup. "How long do you think you can keep that a secret?" 

"If we classify our counter-measures," she said, "Restrict information on the nanoprobe treatment, the forcefields and disabling signal to task force ships only, then we'll at least have a chance to get a handle on this before they adapt." 

"They're not Borg, Kathryn," Bateson commented gently. "They don't adapt, they just compensate--or try to." 

Janeway rubbed the back of her neck. "I'd almost rather face the Borg, they're less insidious; they come at you straight on." 

Picard concurred. "Agreed. What about the interlink devices on the ships?" 

"Can Starfleet just start pulling ships in and have a team search for them under the pretense of routine maintenance or baryon sweeps?" Bateson suggested. 

Janeway nodded. "They can if I recommend it and I will." 

Picard leaned forward. "They could run spectral scans for nanites as well." 

"All task force ships will be scanning any vessel they encounter for nanite infections," Janeway informed the men. "Any cases of infection on Federation ships will be transferred to the Sickbay of the task force ship for treatment. So far, interlink devices have only been found on ships with infected crew so any ship with nanite infections will need to be reported so that Command can route them to a space port for a maintenance sweep. After the sect finds out that we know about the nanites, ships can do their own scans and searches and report any nanites or interlink devices they find. I still want to keep our counter-measures classified as long as possible so task force ships will have their hands full for quite a while dealing with this. Jean-Luc, I'm going to need to take you up on that offer of assistance you made before. The Enterprise already knows about these nanites and helped develop the counter-measures, so we'll need you to scan and treat any nanite infections you encounter." 

"We'll do everything we can," Picard acknowledged. "Dr. Crusher has everything she needs to duplicate the treatment and her biobeds are being modified with spectral scan capability as we speak. For now, I'll just be leaving you two to spend some time alone before Morgan physically throws me out so he can have you to himself for a while. The Enterprise actually should be getting back to our previous assignment; this excitement has put us almost a week behind schedule." 

Janeway grinned. "I'll write you an excuse for Command." 

"But only if you leave quickly," Bateson winked. 

FINIS   



End file.
